IRLF 


OF   MARY   WASHINGTON. 


The   Mother   of  Washington 
And  Her  Times 


The  Mother  of  Washington 
And   Her  Times 

BY 

{•*$' 

MRS.    ROGER    A.    PRYOR 


That  one  who  breaks  the  way  with  tears 
shall  follow  with  a  song  " 


Nefcr  gorfe 
THE   MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 
1903 

All  rights  reserved 


£3)3- 


COPYRIGHT,  1903, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN   COMPANY. 


Set  up,  electrotyped,  and  published  October,  1903 


NorfoooU 

J.  S.  Gushing  &  Co.  -  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


To  THE   HON.  ROGER  A.  PRYOR,  LL.D, 

IN  WHOM  LIVES  ALL  THAT  WAS  BEST 
IN  OLD  VIRGINIA 


925823 


CONTENTS 

PART   I 
CHAPTER   I 

PAGE 

Introductory        ........  I 

CHAPTER   II 

Mary  Washington's  English  Ancestry       .          .          .          .11 

CHAPTER   III 
The  Ball  Family  in  Virginia 15 

CHAPTER  IV 

Coat  Armor  and  the  Right  to  bear  it  .          .          .20 

CHAPTER  V 

Traditions  of  Mary  Ball's  Early  Life         .          .          .          .25 

CHAPTER    VI 

Revelations  of  an  Old  Will 32 

CHAPTER    VII 

Mary  Ball's  Childhood 37 

CHAPTER    VIII 
Good  Times  in  Old  Virginia 47 


viii  Contents 

CHAPTER   IX 


PAGE 


Mary  Ball's  Guardian  and  her  Girlhood  .  .          .  -55 

CHAPTER    X 

Young  Men  and  Maidens  of  the  Old  Dominion  .  .        58 

CHAPTER    XI 

The  Toast  of  the  Gallants  of  her  Day       .          .          .  .62 

CHAPTER   XII 

Her  Marriage  and  Early  Life  .  .  .  .  .69 

CHAPTER    XIII 

Birthplace  of  George  Washington    .  .  .  .  -75 

CHAPTER    XIV 
The  Cherry  Tree  and  Little  Hatchet        .          .  .          .85 

CHAPTER    XV 

The  Young  Widow  and  her  Family          ....        90 

CHAPTER    XVI 

Betty  Washington,  and  Weddings  in  Old  Virginia       .          .102 

CHAPTER    XVII 

Defeat  in  War  :   Success  in  Love     .          .          .  .          .114 


Contents  ix 

CHAPTER  XVIII 


PAGE 


In  and  Around  Fredericksburg          .  .          .  127 

CHAPTER   XIX 

Social  Characteristics,  Manners,  and  Customs    .          .          .143 

CHAPTER   XX 

A  True  Portrait  of  Mary  Washington       .          .          .          .167 

CHAPTER   XXI 

Noon  in  the  Golden  Age       .          .          .          .  .186 

CHAPTER    XXII 
Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        .          .          .          .197 

PART    II 

CHAPTER   I 
The  Little  Cloud 231 

CHAPTER   II 
The  Storm 245 

CHAPTER    III 

Mary  Washington  in  the  Hour  of  Peril     .          .          .          .251 

CHAPTER    IV 

Old  Revolutionary  Letters      .  .          .          .  .          .262 


x  Contents 

CHAPTER   V 

PAGE 

The  Battle-ground -279 

CHAPTER    VI 

France  in  the  Revolution        .          .  .  .          .          .289 

CHAPTER    VII 
"  On  with  the  Dance,  let  Joy  be  unconfined  "  .          .304 

CHAPTER    VIII 
Lafayette  and  our  French  Allies 312 

CHAPTER    IX 

In  Camp  and  at  Mount  Vernon      .  .          .          .  3 1 7 

CHAPTER   X 

Mrs.  Adams  at  the  Court  of  St.  James      .          .          .          -32? 

CHAPTER   XI 

The  First  Winter  at  Mount  Vernon          .          .  .          .      332 

CHAPTER    XII 
The  President  and  his  Last  Visit  to  his  Mother  .          -34° 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Mary  Washington's  Will  ;  her  Illness  and  Death         .          .347 

CHAPTER   XIV 

Tributes  of  her  Countrymen  .          .  .          •      353 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Supposed  Portrait  of  Mary  Washington     .          .  .    Frontispiece 

PAGE 

An  Old  Doll -39 

Horn-book          .  .          .          .          .  •          •  41 

Ducking-stool      ........        44 

The  Old  Stone  House  ....  -45 

William  and  Mary  College    ....  Facing        59 

Old  Yeocomico  Church  .  .  "  63 

Monument  at  Wakefield  marking  the  Birthplace  of  George 

Washington  .          .  .  .  .  .  -75 

George  Washington's  Apron  .  .  .  .  .82 

Bewdley Facing  83 

Pohick  Church,  Mount  Vernon,  Virginia  .          .  .86 

Mrs.  Washington  persuades  George  not  to  go  to  Sea  .  .100 

Kenmore  House  .  .  .  .          .          .          .103 

The  Hall  at  Kenmore,  showing  the  Clock  which  belonged 

to  Mary  Washington     .  .  .          .          .          .      1 1 1 

Nellie  Custis       ......  Facing      1 1 2 

George  Washington  as  Major  .  .  .  .  .115 

General  Braddock 1 1 8 

Mount  Vernon    ......  Facing      120 

St.  Peter's  Church,  in  which  George  Washington  was 

married        .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .123 


xii  Illustrations 


PAGE 


Martha  Custis     ......  Facing      1 24 

Williamsburg       .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .124 

"  Light-horse  Harry"  Lee    .          .          .          .          .  133 

Governor  Spotswood    .          .          .          .          .          .          .134 

Prince  Murat      .          .          .  .          .          .  .          .140 

Colonel  Byrd      .  .  .  .          .          .          .          .147 

Westover  .......  Facing      1 50 

The  Kitchen  of  Mount  Vernon       .  .  .  .          .156 

James  Monroe     .  .  .          .  .          .  .          .165 

Mrs.  Charles  Carter     .  .  .  .  .  .  .177 

Mary  Washington's  House  in  Fredericksburg     .  Facing      183 

Monticello.      The  Home  of  Thomas  Jefferson  .  .          .188 

The  Garden  at  Mount  Vernon        .  .  .  Facing      189 

Elsing  Green       .  .          .  .  .  .  .  .192 

Mount  Airy         .  .  .  .  ...  Facing      192 

Bushrod  Washington     .......      206 

Mary  Ambler     .          .          .  .          .  .  .          .210 

Chief  Justice  John  Marshall  .          .          .          .  .  .211 

Lord  Dunmore   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .237 

Robert  Carter  of  Nomini  Hall          .  .  .  .  .241 

Abigail  Adams    ........      248 

Oratory  Rock      ........      260 

Sir  William  Howe        .......      265 

Major  Andre       .  .  .          .          .          .  .          .270 

Arthur  Lee          .  .          .          .  .  .          .  .274 

Vergennes  .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .289 

Beaumarchais       ........      290 

Silas  Deane          .  .  .  .          .  .          .          .291 


Illustrations  xiii 


PAGE 


Benjamin  Franklin         .          .           .  .  .  .           .292 

General  Burgoyne         .          .           .  .  .  .          .295 

General  Gates     .          .          .           .  .  .  .           .296 

Rochambeau       ...          .          .    -  .  .  .297 

De  Grasse           .           .           .          .  .  .  .           .298 

Lord  Cornwallis            .           .           .  .  .  .          .300 

Greenway  Court           .....  Facing     302 

George  Washington  Parke  Custis     .  .  .  .          .306 

The   Chair  used    by    George   Washington    when  Master  of 

Fredericksburg  Lodge     .          .  .  .  .307 

General  Lafayette        ,.  Facing     3 1 3 

John  Adams         .           .           .           .  .  .  •           .328 

Washington's  Reception  at  Trenton  .  .  .           -343 

Mary  Washington's  Monument       .  .  .  .           -357 

The  Avenue  of  Poplars  at  Nomini  Hall  .  .  .                 363 


AUTHORITIES 

Virginia  Historical  Magazine. 

William  and  Mary  Quarterly. 

Virginia  Historical  Register. 

Meade's  Old  Churches  and  Families  of  Virginia. 

Campbell's  History  of  Virginia. 

Irving' s  Life  of  Washington. 

Recollections    and    Private  Memoirs  of  Washington.      By  George 

Washington  Parke  Custis. 
Cooke's  Virginia. 

The  Bland  Papers.      By  Campbell. 
Howe's  Virginia. 
Journal  of  Philip  Vickars  Fithian. 
Towers' s  Lafayette. 
Creasy 's  Fifteen  Decisive  Battles. 
Morse's  Franklin. 

Lecky's  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century. 
Fiske's  American  Revolution. 
Sparks' s  Diplomatic  Correspondence. 
Washington's  Works. 
Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States. 
Life  and  Letters  of  George  Mason.      By  Kate  Mason  Rowland. 

Xv 


xvi  Authorities 

Beaumarchais  and  his  Times. 

Edwardes's  Translations  of  Lemonie. 

Lives  of  the  Chief  Justices  of  England. 

Twining' s  Travels  in  America. 

Burnaby's  Travels. 

The  Story  of  Mary  Washington.      By  Marion  Harland, 

Randall's  Life  of  Jefferson. 

Worthies  of  England.      By  Thomas  Fuller. 

Foote's  Sketches  of  Virginia. 

Parton's  Franklin. 

A   Study   in   the  Warwickshire   Dialect.      By  Appleton    Morgan, 

A.M.,  LL.B. 
Maternal  Ancestry  of  Washington.      By  G.  W.  Ball. 


NOTE 

THE  author  has  the  honour  to  acknowledge  the  loan  of  portraits 
and  engravings,  and  also  valuable  unpublished  letters  and  diaries, 
from  — 

General  G.  W.  Custis  Lee, 

Mrs.  E.  Parke  Custis  Lewis, 

Mrs.  William  Key  Howard  of  Kenmore, 

Mr.  Henry  Tayloe  of  Mt.  Airy, 

Colonel  Samuel  M.  Blackford, 

Miss  Kate  Mason  Rowland, 

Rev.  G.  W.  Beale, 

Colonel  George  Washington  Ball, 

Mrs.  Alice  Morse  Earle, 

Mr.  R.  A.  Lancaster,  Jr. 


PART    I 


The   Mother  of  Washington 
and   her  Times 


CHAPTER    I 

INTRODUCTORY 

THE  mothers  of  famous  men  survive  only  in 
their   sons.     This  is  a  rule  almost  as  in 
variable   as  a   law   of  nature.       Whatever 
the  aspirations  and  energies  of  the  mother,  mem 
orable  achievement  is  not  for  her.     No  memoir  has 
been   written   in   this   country    of   the   women   who 
bore,  fostered,  and  trained  our  great  men.      What 
do  we  know  of  the  mother  of  Daniel  Webster,  or 
John  Adams,  or  Patrick  Henry,  or  Andrew  Jackson, 
or  of  the  mothers  of  our  Revolutionary  generals  ? 

When  the  American  boy  studies  the  history  of 
his  country,  his  soul  soars  within  him  as  he  reads 
of  his  own  forefathers  :  how  they  rescued  a  wilder 
ness  from  the  savage  and  caused  it  to  bloom  into 
fruitful  fields  and  gardens,  how  they  won  its  in 
dependence  through  eight  years  of  hardship  and 
struggle,  how  they  assured  its  prosperity  by  a  wise 
Constitution  and  firm  laws.  But  he  may  look  in 


2      The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

vain  for  some  tribute  to  the  mothers  who  trained 
his  heroes.  In  his  .Roman  history  he  finds  Cornelia, 
Virginia,  Lucretia,  and'  Veturia  on  the  same  pages 
with  Horatius,  Regulus,  Brutus,  and  Cincinnatus. 
If  he  be  a  boy  of  some  thought  and  perception,  he 
will  see  that  the  early  seventeenth  century  women 
of  his  own  land  must  have  borne  a  similar  relation 
to  their  country  as  these  women  to  the  Roman  Re 
public.  But  our  histories  as  utterly  ignore  them  as 
if  they  never  existed.  The  heroes  of  our  Revolu 
tion  might  have  sprung  armed  from  the  head  of 
Jove  for  aught  the  American  boy  can  find  to  the 
contrary. 

Thus  American  history  defrauds  these  noble 
mothers  of  their  crown  —  not  self-won,  but  won 
by  their  sons. 

Letitia  Romolino  was  known  to  few,  while  the 
fame  of  "Madame  Mere"  is  as-  universal  as  the 
glory  of  Napoleon  himself.  But  Madame  Mere 
had  her  historian.  The  pioneer  woman  of  America, 
who  "  broke  the  way  with  tears,"  retires  into  dark 
ness  and  oblivion ;  while  "  many  follow  with  a 
song  "  the  son  to  whom  she  gave  her  life  and  her 
keen  intelligence  born  of  her  strong  faith  and 
love. 

Biographers  have  occasionally  seemed  to  feel  that 
something  is  due  the  mothers  of  their  heroes. 
Women  have  some  rights  after  all  !  And  so  we 
can  usually  find,  tucked  away  somewhere,  a  short 


Introductory  3 

perfunctory  phrase  of  courtesy,  "  He  is  said  to  have 
inherited  many  of  his  qualities  from  his  mother," 
reminding  us  of  "The  Ladies  —  God  bless  'em," 
after  everybody  else  has  been  toasted  at  a  banquet, 
and  just  before  the  toasters  are  ripe  for  the  song, 
"  We  won't  go  home  till  morning  !  " 

But  —  if  we  are  willing  to  be  appeased  by  such  a 
douceur  —  there  is  literature  galore  anent  the  women 
who  have  amused  "great"  men:  Helen  of  Troy, 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  Madame  du  Barry,  Lady 
Hamilton,  the  Countess  Guicciola,  and  such.  We 
may  comfort  ourselves  for  this  humiliating  fact  only 
by  reflecting  that  the  world  craves  novelty,  and  that 
these  dames  are  interesting  to  the  reading  public, 
solely  because  they  are  exceptional,  while  the  noble, 
unselfish  woman,  being  the  rule  of  motherhood,  is 
familiar  to  every  one  of  us  and  needs  no  historian. 

It  is  the  noble,  unselfish  woman  who  must  shine, 
if  she  shine  at  all,  by  the  light  reflected  from  her 
son.  Her  life,  for  the  most  part,  must  be  hidden 
by  the  obscurity  of  domestic  duties.  While  herself 
thus  inactive  and  retired,  her  son  is  developed  for 
glory,  and  the  world  is  his  arena.  It  is  only  when 
he  reaches  renown  that  she  becomes  an  object  of 
attention,  but  it  is  then  too  late  to  take  her  measure 
in  the  plenitude  of  her  powers.  Emitting  at  best 
but  a  feeble  ray,  her  genius  is  soon  lost  in  the 
splendor  of  his  meridian. 

Nay  more,  her  reputation  is  often  the  sport  of  a 


4      The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

love  of  contrast,  and  her  simplicity  and  his  magnifi 
cence  the  paradox  of  a  gossiping  public. 

Mary  Washington  presents  no  exception  to  this 
picture.  As  the  mother  of  the  man  who  has  hitherto 
done  most  for  the  good  and  glory  of  humanity,  the 
details  of  her  life  are  now  of  world-wide  and  enduring 
interest.  Those  details  were  lost  in  the  seclusion 
and  obscurity  of  her  earlier  years  or  else  absorbed 
in  the  splendor  of  her  later  career.  It  is  not  deni 
able,  too,  that  in  the  absence  of  authentic  information, 
tradition  has  made  free  with  her  name,  and  has  im 
puted  to  her  motives  and  habits  altogether  foreign 
to  her  real  character.  The  mother  of  Washington 
was  in  no  sense  a  commonplace  woman.  Still  less 
was  she  hard,  uncultured,  undignified,  unrefined. 

The  writer  hopes  to  trace  the  disparaging  tradi 
tions,  and  to  refute  them  by  showing  that  all  the 
known  actions  of  her  life  were  the  emanations  of  a 
noble  heart,  high  courage,  and  sound  understanding. 

"  Characters,"  said  the  great  Englishman  who 
lived  in  her  time,  "  should  never  be  given  by  an 
historian  unless  he  knew  the  people  whom  he  de 
scribes,  or  copies  from  those  who  knew  them."  "  A 
hard  saying  for  picturesque  writers  of  history,"  says 
Mr.  Augustine  Birrell,  who  knows  so  well  how  to  be 
picturesque  and  yet  faithful  to  the  truth.  Even  he 
laments  how  little  we  can  know  of  a  dead  man  we 
never  saw.  "  His  books,  if  he  wrote  books,  will 
tell  us  something ;  his  letters,  if  he  wrote  any,  and 


Introductory  5 

they  are  preserved,  may  perchance  fling  a  shadow 
on  the  sheet  for  a  moment  or  two  ;  a  portrait  if 
painted  in  a  lucky  hour  may  lend  a  show  of  sub 
stance  to  our  dim  surmisings ;  the  things  he  did 
must  carefully  be  taken  into  account,  but  as  a  man 
is  much  more  than  the  mere  sum  of  his  actions 
even  these  cannot  be  relied  upon  with  great  con 
fidence.  For  the  purpose,  therefore,  of  getting  at 
any  one's  character,  the  testimony  of  those  who 
knew  the  living  man  is  of  all  the  material  likely  to 
be  within  our  reach  the  most  useful." 

How  truly  the  words  of  this  brilliant  writer  apply 
to  the  ensuing  pages  will  be  apparent  to  every  in 
telligent  reader.  No  temptation  has  availed  with 
the  compiler  to  accept  any,  the  most  attractive, 
theory  or  tradition.  The  testimony  of  those  who 
knew  Mary  Washington  is  the  groundwork  of  the 
picture,  and  controls  its  every  detail. 

A  few  years  ago  an  episode  of  interest  was  awak 
ened  in  Mary  Washington's  life.  There  was  a  de 
cided  Mary  Washington  Renaissance.  She  passed 
this  way  —  as  Joan  of  Arc  —  as  Napoleon  Bona 
parte,  Burns,  Emerson,  and  others  pass.  A  society 
of  women  banded  themselves  together  into  a  Mary 
Washington  Memorial  Association.  Silver  and  gold 
medals  bearing  her  gentle,  imagined  face  were  struck 
off,  and  when  the  demand  for  them  was  at  its 
height,  their  number  was  restricted  to  six  hundred, 
to  be  bequeathed  for  all  time  from  mother  to  daugh- 


6      The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

ter,  the  pledge  being  a  perpetual  vigil  over  the  tomb 
of  Mary  Washington,  thus  forming  a  Guard  of 
Honor  of  six  hundred  American  women.  The  Prin 
cess  Eulalia  of  Spain,  and  Maria  Pilar  Colon,  a  de 
scendant  of  Christopher  Columbus,  were  admitted 
into  this  Guard  of  Honor,  and  wear  its  insignia. 

This  "  Renaissance  "  grew  out  of  an  advertisement 
in  the  Washington  papers  to  the  effect  that  the 
"Grave  of  Mary,  the  Mother  of  General  Washing 
ton,"  was  to  be  "sold  at  Public  Auction,  the  same 
to  be  offered  at  Public  Outcry,"  under  the  shadow 
of  the  monument  erected  in  her  son's  honor,  and  in 
the  city  planned  by  him  and  bearing  his  name. 

A  number  of  the  descendants  of  Mary  Washing 
ton's  old  Fredericksburg  neighbors  assembled  the 
next  summer  at  the  White  Sulphur  Springs  in  Vir 
ginia.  It  was  decided  that  a  ball  be  given  at  the 
watering-place  to  aid  the  noble  efforts  of  the  widow 
of  Chief  Justice  Waite  to  avert  the  disaster,  purchase 
the  park,  and  erect  a  monument  over  the  ashes  of 
the  mother  of  Washington.  One  of  the  guests  was 
selected  to  personate  her :  General  Fitzhugh  Lee  to 
represent  her  son  George. 

A  thousand  patrons  assured  the  success  of  the 
ball.  They  wore  Mary  Washington's  colors — blue 
and  white  —  and  assumed  the  picturesque  garb  of 
pre-Revolutionary  days.  The  bachelor  governor  of 
New  York,  learning  what  was  toward  with  these  fair 
ladies,  sent  his  own  state  flag  to  grace  the  occasion, 


Introductory  7 

and  its  snow-white  folds  mingled  with  the  blue  of 
the  state  banner  contributed  by  the  governor  of 
Virginia. 

The  gowns  of  the  Virginia  beauties  were  yellow 
with  age,  and  wrinkled  from  having  been  hastily 
exhumed  from  the  lavender-scented  chests ;  for 
when  lovely  Juliet  Carter  chose  the  identical  gown 
of  her  great,  great  grandmother,  —  blue  brocade, 
looped  over  a  white  satin  quilted  petticoat,  —  the 
genuine  example  was  followed  by  all  the  rest.  The 
Madam  Washington  of  the  hour  was  strictly  taken 
in  hand  by  the  Fredericksburg  contingent.  Her 
kerchief  had  been  worn  at  the  Fredericksburg  Peace 
Ball,  her  mob  cap  was  cut  by  a  pattern  preserved  by 
Mary  Washington's  old  neighbors.  There  were 
mittens,  a  reticule,  and  a  fan  made  of  the  bronze 
feathers  of  the  wild  turkey  of  Virginia.  Standing 
with  her  son  George  in  the  midst  of  the  old-time 
assembly,  old-time  music  in  the  air,  old-time  pictures 
on  the  walls,  Madam  Washington  received  her 
guests  and  presented  them  to  her  son,  whose  minia 
ture  she  wore  on  her  bosom.  "  I  am  glad  to 
meet  your  son,  Madam  Washington  !  "  said  pretty 
Ellen  Lee,  as  she  dropped  her  courtesy ;  "  I  always 
heard  he  was  a  truthful  child  !  " 

The  lawn  and  cloister-like  corridors  of  the  large 
hotel  were  crowded  at  an  early  hour  with  the 
country  people,  arriving  on  foot,  on  horseback,  and 
in  every  vehicle  known  to  the  mountain  roads. 


8       The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

These  rustic  folk  —  weather-beaten,  unkempt  old 
trappers  and  huntsmen,  with  their  sons  and  daugh 
ters,  wives  and  little  children  —  gathered  in  the 
verandas  and  filled  the  windows  of  the  ball-room. 
When  the  procession  made  the  rounds  of  the  room 
the  comments  of  the  holders  of  the  window-boxes 
were  not  altogether  flattering.  The  quaint  dress  of 
{cthe  tea-cup  time  of  hoop  and  hood"  was  disap 
pointing.  They  had  expected  a  glimpse  of  the 
latest  fashions  of  the  metropolis. 

"  I  don't  think  much  of  that  Mrs.  Washington/' 
said  one. 

"  Well,"  drawled  another,  a  wiry  old  graybeard, 
"  she  looks  quiet  and  peaceable !  The  ole  one 
was  a  turrible  ole  woman !  My  grandfather's  father 
used  to  live  close  to  ole  Mrs.  Washington.  The 
ole  man  used  to  say  she  would  mount  a  stool 
to  rap  her  man  on  the  head  with  the  smoke-'ouse 
key  !  She  was  that  little,  an'  hot-tempered." 

"  That  was  Martha  Washington,  grandfather," 
corrected  a  girl  who  had  been  to  school  in  Lewis- 
burg.  "  She  was  the  short  one." 

"Well,  Martha  or  Mary,  it  makes  no  differ," 
grimly  answered  the  graybeard.  "  They  was 
much  of  a  muchness  to  my  thinkin',"  and  this 
was  the  first  of  the  irreverent  traditions  which 
caught  the  ear  of  the  writer,  and  led  to  investi 
gation.  They  cropped  up  fast  enough  from  many 
a  dark  corner ! 


Introductory  9 

About  this  time  many  balls  and  costume  enter 
tainments  were  given  to  aid  the  monument  fund. 
There  were  charming  garden  parties  to 

"  Bring  back  the  hour 
Of  glory  in  the  grass  and  splendor  in  the  flower," 

when  the  Mother  of  Washington  was  beautiful, 
young,  and  happy.  A  notable  theatrical  entertain 
ment,  the  "  Mary  Washington  matinee/'  was  ar 
ranged  by  Mrs.  Charles  Avery  Doremus,  the  clever 
New  York  playwright.  The  theatre  was  hung  with 
colors  lent  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  the  order 
therefor  signed  by  "  George  Dewey."  Everybody 
wore  the  Mary  Washington  colors  —  as  did  Adelina 
Patti,  who  flashed  from  her  box  the  perennial  smile 
we  are  yet  to  see  again.  Despite  the  hydra-headed 
traditions  the  Mother  of  Washington  had  her 
apotheosis. 

Brought  face  to  face  with  my  reader,  and  devoutly 
praying  I  may  hold  his  interest  to  the  end,  I  wish  I 
could  spare  him  every  twice-told  tale  —  every  dull 
word. 

But  "  we  are  made  of  the  shreds  and  patches  of 
many  ancestors."  What  we  are  we  owe  to  them. 
God  forbid  we  should  inherit  and  repeat  all  their 
actions  !  The  courage,  the  fortitude,  the  persistence, 
are  what  we  inherit  —  not  the  deeds  through  which 
they  were  expressed.  A  successful  housebreaker's 
courage  may  blossom  in  the  valor  of  a  descendant 


io     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

on  the  field  who  has  been  trained  in  a  better  school 
than  his  ancestor. 

Dull  as  the  public  is  prone  to  regard  genealogical 
data,  the  faithful  biographer  is  bound  to  give  them. 

And  therefore  the  reader  must  submit  to  an  intro 
duction  to  the  Ball  family,  otherwise  he  cannot  un 
derstand  the  Mother  of  Washington  or  Washington 
himself.  One  of  them,  perhaps  the  one  most 
deserving  eminence  through  her  own  beneficence, 
we  cannot  place  exactly  in  our  records.  She  was  an 
English  "  Dinah  Morris/'  and  her  name  was  Hannah 
Ball.  She  was  the  originator  of  Sunday-schools, 
holding  her  own  school  in  1772,  twelve  years  before 
the  reputed  founder,  Robert  Raikes,  established 
Sunday-schools  in  England. 


CHAPTER    II 
MARY  WASHINGTON'S  ENGLISH  ANCESTRY 

THE  family  of  Ball  from  which  Mary,  th? 
mother  of  Washington,  descended,  can  be 
traced  in  direct  line  only  as  far  back  as  the 
year  1480.  They  came  originally  from  "  Barkham, 
anciently  '  Boercham  ' ;  noted  as  the  spot  at  which 
William  the  Conqueror  paused  on  his  devastating 
march  from  the  bloody  field  of  Hastings  -,1  c  wasting 
ye  land,  burning  ye  towns  and  sleaing  (sic)  ye  peo 
ple  till  he  came  to  Boerchum  where  he  stayed  his 
ruthless  hand.'  ' 

In  the  "  History  of  the  Ball  family  of  Barkham, 
Comitatis  Berks,  taken  from  the  Visitation  Booke 
of  London  marked  O.  24,  in  the  College  of  Arms," 
we  find  that  "  William  Ball,  Lord  of  the  Manor  of 
Barkham,  Com.  Berks,  died  in  the  year  1480." 
From  this  William  Ball,  George  Washington  was 
eighth  in  direct  descent. 

The  entry  in  the  old  visitation  book  sounds  im 
posing,  but  Barkham  was  probably  a  small  town 
nestled  amid  the  green  hills  of  Berkshire,  whose 
beauty  possibly  so  reminded  the  Conqueror  of  his 

1  The  Maternal  Ancestry  of  Washington,  by  George  Washington  Ball. 
II 


12     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Normandy  that  "  he  stayed  his  ruthless  hand."  A 
century  ago  it  was  a  village  of  some  fifty  houses 
attached  to  the  estate  of  the  Levison  Gowers. 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  interven 
ing  Balls  in  the  line, —  Robert,  William,  two  Johns, 
—  all  of  whom  lived  in  Barkham,  or  the  William  of 
Lincoln's  Inn,  who  became  "attorney  in  the  Office 
of  Pleas  in  the  Exchequer,"  were  men  of  wealth  or 
rank.  The  "getting  of  gear  was  never,"  said  one 
of  their  descendants,  "  a  family  trait,  nor  even  the 
ability  to  hold  it  when  gotten  "  ;  but  nowhere  is  it 
recorded  that  they  ever  wronged  man  or  woman  in 
the  getting.  They  won  their  worldly  goods  honor 
ably,  used  them  beneficently,  and  laid  them  down 
cheerfully  when  duty  to  king  or  country  demanded 
the  sacrifice,  and  when  it  pleased  God  to  call  them 
out  of  the  world.  They  were  simply  men  "  doing 
their  duty  in  their  day  and  generation  and  deserving 
well  of  their  fellows." 

They  belonged  to  the  Landed  Gentry  of  Eng 
land.  This  does  not  presuppose  their  estates  to 
have  been  extensive.  A  few  starved  acres  of  land 
sufficed  to  class  them  among  the  Landed  Gentry, 
distinguishing  them  from  laborers.  As  such  they 
may  have  been  entitled  to  the  distinction  of  "  Gen 
tleman,"  the  title  in  England  next  lowest  to  "Yeo 
man."  No  one  of  them  had  ever  bowed  his 
shoulders  to  the  royal  accolade,  nor  held  even  the 
position  of  esquire  to  a  baronet.  But  the  title 


Mary  Washington's  English  Ancestry         13 

"  Gentleman  "  was  a  social  distinction  of  value. 
"  Ordinarily  the  King,"  says  Sir  Thomas  Smith, 
"  doth  only  make  Knights  and  create  Barons  or 
higher  degrees  ;  as  for  gentlemen,  they  be  made  good 
cheap  in  this  Kingdom  ;  for  whosoever  studieth  the 
laws  of  the  realm,  who  studieth  in  the  universities, 
who  professeth  the  liberal  sciences,  he  shall  be 
taken  for  a  gentleman ;  for  gentlemen  be  those 
whom  their  blood  and  race  doth  make  noble  and 
known."  By  "a  gentleman  born"  was  usually 
understood  the  son  of  a  gentleman  by  birth,  and 
grandson  of  a  gentleman  by  position.  "  It  takes 
three  generations  to  make  a  gentleman,"  we  say 
to-day,  and  this  seems  to  have  been  an  ancient 
rule  in  England. 

The  Balls  might  well  be  proud  to  belong  to  old 
England's  middle  classes  —  her  landed,  untitled 
Gentry.  A  few  great  minds  —  Lord  Francis  Veru- 
lam,  for  instance  —  came  from  her  nobility ;  and 
some  gifted  writers  —  the  inspired  dreamer,  for 
instance  —  from  her  tinkers  and  tradesmen;  but 
the  mighty  host  of  her  scholars,  poets,  and  philoso 
phers  belonged  to  her  middle  classes.  They  sent 
from  their  ranks  Shakespeare  and  Milton,  Locke  and 
Sir  Isaac  Newton,  Gibbon,  Dryden,  "  old  Sam  John 
son,"  Pope,  Macaulay,  Stuart  Mill,  Huxley,  Darwin, 
Wordsworth,  Coleridge,  Burke,  Disraeli,  Cowper, 
Sir  William  Blackstone,  and  nearly  all  of  the  Chief 
Justices  of  England.  These  are  but  a  few  of  the 


14     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

great  names  that  shine  along  the  ranks  of  England's 
middle  classes. 

Many  of  these  men  were  called  to  the  foot  of  the 
throne  by  a  grateful  sovereign  to  receive  some  dis 
tinction, —  so  paltry  by  comparison  with  glory  of 
their  own  earning,  —  and  among  them  came  one  day 
an  ancestor  of  the  mother  of  George  Washington. 
Who  he  was  we  know  not,  nor  yet  what  had  been 
his  service  to  his  country ;  but  he  was  deemed 
worthy  to  bear  upon  his  shield  a  lion  rampant,  the 
most  honorable  emblem  of  heraldry,  and  the  lion's 
paws  held  aloft  a  ball !  This  much  we  know  of  him, 
-that  in  addition  to  his  valor  and  fidelity  he  pos 
sessed  a  poet's  soul.  He  chose  for  the  motto,  the 
cri  de  guerre  of  his  clan,  a  suggestive  phrase  from 
these  lines  of  Ovid  :  — 

"He  gave  to  man  a  noble  countenance  and  com 
manded  him  to  gaze  upon  the  heavens,  and  to  carry 
his  looks  upward  to  the  stars/' 


CHAPTER    III 

THE    BALL    FAMILY    IN    VIRGINIA 

THE  first  of  the  family  of  Ball  to  come  to 
Virginia  was  William   Ball,  who  settled  in 
Lancaster  County  in   1650.     He  was  the 
son  of  the  attorney  of  Lincoln's    Inn.       He  emi 
grated,  with  other    cavaliers    because   of  the   over 
throw  of  the  royal  house  and  the  persecution  of  its 
adherents. 

Before  this  time  one  John  Washington,  an  Eng 
lishman  and  a  loyalist,  had  settled  in  Westmoreland. 
He  became  a  man  of  influence  in  the  colony,  rising 
rapidly  from  major  to  colonel,  justice  of  Westmore 
land,  and  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses;  accept 
ing  positions  under  the  Commonwealth,  as  did  others 
of  King  Charles's  adherents  ;  doing  their  duty  under 
the  present  conditions,  and  consoling  themselves  by 
calling  everything  —  towns,  counties,  rivers,  and  their 
own  sons  —  after  the  "  Martyred  Monarch"  ;  and  in 
rearing  mulberry  trees  and  silkworms  to  spin  the 
coronation  robe  of  purple  for  the  surely  coming  time 
of  the  Restoration. 

John  Washington  married  three  times,  —  two 
Annes  and  one  Frances,  —  and,  innocently  uncon- 

15 


1 6      The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

scious  of  the  tremendous  importance  to  future  his 
torians  of  his  every  action,  he  neglected  to  place 
on  record  the  date  of  these  events.  In  his  day  a 
woman  appeared  before  the  public  only  three  times, 
—  at  her  baptism,  marriage,  and  death.  But  one  of 
Colonel  Washington's  wives  emerges  bravely  from 
obscurity.  A  bold  sinner  and  hard  swearer,  having 
been  arraigned  before  her  husband,  she  was  minded 
to  improve  her  opportunity  ;  and  the  Westmoreland 
record  hath  it  that  "  Madam  Washington  said  to 
ye  prisoner,  £  if  you  were  advised  by  yr  wife,  you 
need  not  acome  to  this  passe,'  and  he  answered, 

having  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  c my 

wife  !  If  it  were  to  doe,  I  would  do  it  againe.' ' 

And  so  no  more  of  Madam  Washington  !  This 
trouble  had  grown  out  of  what  was  characterized  as 
"  ye  horrid,  traiterous,  and  rebellious  practices  "  of  a 
young  Englishman  on  the  James  River,  whose  only 
fault  lay  in  the  unfortunate  circumstance  of  his  hav 
ing  been  born  a  hundred  years  too  soon.  Bacon's 
cause  had  been  just,  and  he  was  eloquent  enough 
and  young  and  handsome  enough  to  draw  all  men's 
hearts  to  himself,  but  his  own  was  stilled  in  death 
before  he  could  right  his  neighbors'  wrongs. 

And  now,  the  Fates  that  move  the  pieces  on  the 
chess-board  of  life  ordained  that  two  prophetic  names 
should  appear  together  to  suppress  the  first  rebellion 
against  the  English  government.  When  the  Grand 
Assembly  cast  about  for  loyal  men  and  true  to  lay 


The  Ball  Family  in  Virginia  17 

"  a  Levy  in  ye  Northern  Necke  for  ye  charges  in 
Raisinge  ye  forces  thereof  for  suppressing  ye  late  Re 
bellion,"  the  lot  fell  on  "  Coll.  John  Washington  and 
Coll:  Wm.  Ball,"  the  latter  journeying  up  from  his 
home  in  Lancaster  to  meet  Colonel  Washington  at 
Mr.  Beale's,  in  Westmoreland. 

Colonel  Ball's  Lancaster  home  was  near  the  old 
White  Chapel  church,  around  which  are  clustered 
a  large  number  of  strong,  heavy  tombstones  which 
betoken  to-day  "  a  deep  regard  of  the  living  for  the 
dead." 

Almost  all  of  them  are  inscribed  with  the  name  of 
Ball.  In  their  old  vestry  books  are  stern  records.  A 
man  was  fined  five  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco  for 
profane  swearing ;  unlucky  John  Clinton,  for  some 
unmentioned  misdemeanor,  was  required  four  times 
to  appear  on  bended  knees  and  four  times  to  ask 
pardon.  As  late  as  1727  men  were  presented  for 
drunkenness,  for  being  absent  one  month  from 
church,  for  swearing,  for  selling  crawfish  and 
posting  accounts  on  Sunday.  "  And  in  addition 
to  above,"  adds  Bishop  Meade,  "  the  family  of 
Ball  was  very  active  in  promoting  good  things," 
as  well  as  zealous  in  the  punishment  of  evil.  Overt 
acts  —  swearing,  fishing  on  Sunday,  absence  from 
church  —  could  easily  be  detected  and  punished. 
But  how  about  drunkenness  ?  There  are  degrees  of 
intoxication.  At  what  point  was  it  punishable  ? 

An  old  Book  of  Instructions  settled  the  matter. 


1 8     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"  Where  ye  same  legges  which  carry  a  Man  into  a 
house  cannot  bring  him  out  againe,  it  is  Sufficient 
Sign  of  Drunkennesse." 

The  descendants  of  William  Ball  held  good  posi 
tions  in  the  social  life  of  the  colony.  Their  names 
appear  in  Bishop  Meade's  list  of  vestrymen,  as 
founders  and  patrons  of  the  Indian  schools,  and 
fourteen  times  in  the  House  of  Burgesses.  They 
intermarried  with  the  leading  families  in  Virginia ; 
and  the  Balls,  in  great  numbers,  settled  the  counties 
of  Lancaster,  Northumberland,  Westmoreland,  and 
Stafford.  They  are  not  quoted  as  eminent  in  the 
councils  of  the  time,  or  as  distinguished  in  letters. 
That  they  were  good  citizens  is  more  to  their  credit 
than  that  they  should  have  filled  prominent  official 
positions ;  for  high  offices  have  been  held  by  men 
who  were  not  loyal  to  their  trusts,  and  even  genius 
-  that  beacon  of  light  in  the  hands  of  true  men  — 
has  been  a  torch  of  destruction  in  those  of  the 
unworthy. 

They,  like  their  English  ancestors,  bore  for  their 
arms  a  lion  rampant  holding  a  ball,  and  for  their 
motto  Ctflumque  tueri,  taken,  as  we  have  said,  from 
these  lines  of  Ovid:  — 

"  Os  homini  sublime  dedit,  caelumque  tueri 
Jussit,  et  erectos  ad  sidera  tollere  vultus." 

The  rampant  lion  holding  the  ball  appears  on  an 
armorial  document  belonging  to  the  first  emigrant 


The  Ball  Family  in  Virginia  19 

On  the  back  of  this  document  are  the  following 
words,  written  in  the  round,  large  script  of  those 
days,  which,  whatever  it  left  undone,  permitted  no 
possible  doubt  of  the  meaning  it  meant  to  convey  :  — 

"The  Coat  of  Arms  of  Colonel  William  Ball, 
who  came  from  England  about  the  year  1650,  leav 
ing  two  sons  —  William  of  Millenbeck  [the  paternal 
seat]  and  Joseph  of  Epping  Forest  —  and  one 
daughter,  Hannah,  who  married  Daniel  Fox.  .  .  . 
Joseph's  male  issue  is  extinct." 

George  Washington  was  the  grandson  of  this 
Joseph  Ball  through  his  youngest  daughter  Mary. 
She  was  born  at  Epping  Forest,  in  Lancaster,  Vir 
ginia,  in  1708,  and  "not  as  is  persistently  stated  by 
careless  writers  on  Nov :  3Oth  1706  —  a  year  before 
her  parents  were  married." 

1  Horace  Edwin  Hayden  in  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  Vol.  iii,  p.  74. 


CHAPTER    IV 

COAT    ARMOR    AND    THE    RIGHT    TO    BEAR    IT 

BISHOP  Meade  says  of  William  Ball's  coat 
of  arms :     "  There    is    much    that    is    bold 
about  it :   as  a  lion  rampant  with  a  globe  in 
his  paw,  with  helmet,  shield  and  visor,  and   other 
things  betokening  strength  and  courage,  but  none 
these  things  suit  of  my  work  !     There  is,  however, 
one  thing  that  does.      On  a  scroll  are  these  words, 
Ccelum  tueri !      May   it   be   a   memento   to   all   his 
posterity  to  look  upward  and  seek  the  things  which 
are  above  !  " 

The  Bishop  attached,  probably,  more  importance 
to  the  heraldic  distinction  than  did  the  mother  of 
Washington.  Virginia  families  used  the  arms  to 
which  they  had  a  right  with  no  thought  of  ostenta 
tion —  simply  as  something  belonging  to  them,  as  a 
matter  of  course.  They  sealed  their  deeds  and  con 
tracts  with  their  family  crest  and  motto,  displayed 
their  arms  on  the  panels  of  their  coaches,  carved 
them  on  their  gate-posts  and  on  the  tombstones  of 
their  people  ;  for  such  had  been  the  custom  in  the 
old  country  which  they  fondly  called  "  home." 

20 


Coat  Armor  and  the  Right  to  Bear  it          21 

The  pedigrees  and  coats  of  arms  of  the  families, 
from  which  Mary  Ball  and  her  illustrious  son  de 
scended,  have  been  much  discussed  by  historians. ? 
"  Truly  has  it  been  said  that  all  the  glories  of  ances 
tral  escutcheons  are  so  overshadowed  by  the  deeds 
of  Washington  that  they  fade  into  insignificance ; 
that  a  just  democracy,  scornful  of  honors  not  self- 
won,  pays  its  tribute  solely  to  the  man,  the  woman, 
and  the  deed  ;  that  George  Washington  was  great 
because  he  stood  for  the  freedom  of  his  people,  and 
Mary  Washington  was  great  because  she  implanted 
in  his  youthful  breast  righteous  indignation  against 
wrong,  which  must  ever  be  the  inspiration  of  the 
hero.  And  yet  the  insignia  of  a  noble  name, 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation,  and 
held  up  as  an  incentive  to  integrity  and  valor,  may 
well  be  cherished."  The  significance  of  the  shield 
granted  as  reward,  and  the  sentiment  chosen  as  the 
family  motto,  are  not  to  be  ignored.  The  shield 
witnesses  a  sovereign's  appreciation ;  the  motto 
affords  a  key-note  to  the  aspirations  of  the  man  who 
chose  it.  Not  of  the  women  !  for  only  under  limi 
tations  could  women  use  the  shield ;  the  motto 
they  were  forbidden  to  use  at  all.  Mottoes  often 
expressed  lofty  sentiments.  Witness  a  few  taken 
from  Virginia  families  of  English  descent :  Malo 
mori  quam  fcedari.  Sperate  et  Virite  Fortes  (Bland), 
Sine  Deo  Cares  (Gary),  Ostendo  non  ostento 
(Isham),  Reve  et  Reve/e  (Atkinson),  etc. 


22     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

At  the  present  moment  the  distinction  of  a  coat 
of  arms  is  highly  esteemed  in  this  country.  Fami 
lies  of  English  descent  can  always  find  a  shield  or 
crest  on  some  branch,  more  or  less  remote,  of  the 
Family  Tree.  The  title  to  these  arms  may  have 
long  been  extinct  —  but  who  will  take  the  trouble  to 
investigate  ?  The  American  cousin  scorns  and  defies 
rules  of  heraldry  !  To  be  sure,  he  would  prefer  as 
suming  a  shield  once  borne  by  some  ancestor,  but  if 
that  be  impossible,  he  is  quite  capable  of  marshalling 
his  arms  to  suit  himself.  Is  not  "a  shield  of  pre 
tence  "  arms  which  a  lord  claims  and  which  he  adds 
to  his  own  ?  Thus  it  comes  to  pass  that  the  crest, 
hard  won  in  deadly  conflict,  and  the  motto  once  the 
challenging  battle-cry,  find  themselves  embalmed  in 
the  perfume  of  a  fine  lady's  tinted  billet,  or  proudly 
displayed  on  the  panels  of  her  park  equipage.  Thus 
is  many  a  hard-won  crest  and  proud  escutcheon  of 
old  England  made  to  suffer  the  extreme  penalty  of 
the  English  law,  "  drawn  and  quartered,"and  dragged 
captive  in  boastful  triumph  at  the  chariot  wheels 
of  the  Great  Obscure !  They  can  be  made  to 
order  by  any  engraver.  They  are  used,  unchal 
lenged,  by  any  and  every  body  willing  to  pay 
for  them. 

It  may,  therefore,  be  instructive  to  turn  the  pages 
of  old  Thomas  Fuller's  "  Worthies  of  England," 
and  learn  the  rigid  laws  governing  the  use  of  arms 
by  these  "  Worthies." 


Coat  Armor  and  the  Right  to  Bear  it         23 

The  "  fixing  of  hereditary  arms  in  England  was 
a  hundred  years  ancienter  than  Richard  the  Sec 
ond" —  in  1277,  therefore.  Before  his  second 
invasion  into  France,  Henry  V  issued  a  proclama 
tion  to  the  sheriffs  to  this  effect:  "Because  there 
are  divers  men  who  have  assumed  to  themselves 
arms  and  coat-armours  where  neither  they  nor  their 
ancestors  in  times  past  used  such  arms  or  coat- 
armours,  all  such  shall  show  cause  on  the  day  of 
muster  why  he  useth  arms  and  by  virtue  of  whose 
gift  he  enjoyeth  the  same :  those  only  excepted 
who  carried  arms  with  us  at  the  battle  of  Agin- 
court ; "  and  all  detected  frauds  were  to  be  pun 
ished  "  with  the  loss  of  wages,  as  also  the  rasing 
out  and  breaking  off  of  said  arms  called  coat- 
armours —  and  this,"  adds  his  Majesty,  with  em 
phasis,  "  you  shall  in  no  case  omit." 

By  a  later  order  there  was  a  more  searching 
investigation  into  the  right  to  bear  arms.  A  high 
heraldic  officer,  usually  one  of  the  kings-at-arms, 
was  sent  into  all  the  counties  to  examine  the 
pedigrees  of  the  landed  gentry,  with  a  view  of 
ascertaining  whether  the  arms  borne  by  them  were 
unwarrantably  assumed.  The  king-at-arms  was 
accompanied  on  such  occasions  by  secretaries  or 
draftsmen.  The  "  Herald's  Visitations,"  as  they 
were  termed,  were  regularly  held  as  early  as  1433, 
and  until  between  1686  and  1700.  Their  object 
was  by  no  means  to  create  coats  of  arms  but  to 


24     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

reject  the  unauthorized,  and  confirm  and  verify 
those  that  were  authentic.  Thus  the  arms  of  the 
Ball  and  Washington  families  had  been  subjected 
to  strict  scrutiny  before  being  registered  in  the 
Heralds'  College.  They  could  not  have  been  un 
lawfully  assumed  by  the  first  immigrant,  nor  would 
he,  while  living  in  England,  have  been  allowed  to 
mark  his  property  or  seal  his  papers  with  those 
arms  nor  use  them  in  any  British  colony. 


CHAPTER    V 

TRADITIONS    OF    MARY    BALI/S    EARLY    LIFE 

OF  the  ancestry  of  Mary  Washington's  mother 
nothing  is  known.  She  was  the  "  Widow 
Johnson,"  said  to  have  descended  from 
the  Montagus  of  England,  and  supposed  to  have 
been  a  housekeeper  in  Joseph  Ball's  family,  and 
married  to  him  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife. 
Members  of  the  Ball  family,  after  Mary  Washing 
ton's  death,  instituted  diligent  search  to  discover 
something  of  her  mother's  birth  and  lineage.  Their 
inquiries  availed  to  show  that  she  was  an  English 
woman.  No  connection  of  hers  could  be  found  in 
Virginia.  Since  then,  eminent  historians  and  gene 
alogists,  notably  Mr.  Hayden  and  Mr.  Moncure 
Conway,  have  given  time  and  research  "  to  the  most 
important  problem  in  Virginia  genealogy,  —  Who 
and  whence  was  Mary  Johnson,  widow,  mother  of 
Mary  Washington  ?  "  The  Montagu  family  has 
claimed  her  and  discovered  that  the  griffin  of  the 
house  of  Montagu  sometimes  displaced  the  raven 
in  General  Washington's  crest ;  and  it  was  asserted 
that  the  griffin  had  been  discovered  perched  upon 
the  tomb  of  one  Katharine  Washington,  at  Pianka- 

25 


26     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

tank.  To  verify  this,  the  editor  of  the  William  and 
Mary  Quarterly  journeyed  to  the  tomb  of  Katharine, 
and  found  the  crest  to  be  neither  a  raven  or  a  griffin 
but  a  wolf's  head  ! 

It  matters  little  whether  or  no  the  mother  of 
Washington  came  of  noble  English  blood ;  for 
while  an  honorable  ancestry  is  a  gift  of  the  gods, 
and  should  be  regarded  as  such  by  those  who  pos 
sess  it,  an  honorable  ancestry  is  not  merely  a  titled 
ancestry.  Descent  from  nobles  may  be  interesting, 
but  it  can  only  be  honorable  when  the  strawberry 
leaves  have  crowned  a  wise  head  and  the  ermine 
warmed  a  true  heart.  Three  hundred  years  ago  an 
English  wit  declared  that  "  Noblemen  have  seldom 
anything  in  print  save  their  clothes." 

Knowing  that  Mary  Johnson  was  an  English 
woman,  we  might,  had  we  learned  her  maiden  name, 
have  rejoiced  in  tracing  her  to  some  family  of  posi 
tion,  learning,  or  wealth  ;  for  position  and  learning 
are  desirable  gifts,  and  wealth  has  been,  and  ever 
will  be,  a  synonym  of  power.  It  can  buy  the  title 
and  command  genius.  It  can  win  friendship,  pour 
sunshine  into  dark  places,  cause  the  desert  to 
bloom.  It  can  prolong  and  sweeten  life,  and  alle 
viate  the  pangs  of  death. 

These  brilliant  settings,  for  the  woman  we  would 
fain  honor,  are  denied  us.  That  she  was  a  jewel  in 
herself,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  We  must  judge  of 
her  as  we  judge  of  a  tree  by  its  fruits ;  as  we 


Traditions  of  Mary  Ball's  Early  Life          27 

judge  a  fountain  by  the  streams  issuing  there 
from.  She  was  the  mother  of  a  great  woman 
"  whose  precepts  and  discipline  in  the  education  of 
her  illustrious  son,  himself  acknowledged  to  have 
been  the  foundation  of  his  fortune  and  fame: — a 
woman  who  possessed  not  the  ambitions  which  are 
common  to  meaner  minds."  This  was  said  of  her 
by  one  who  knew  Mary,  the  mother  of  Washing 
ton, —  Mary,  the  daughter  of  the  obscure  Widow 
Johnson. 

Indeed,  she  was  so  obscure  that  the  only  clew  we 
have  to  her  identity  as  Joseph  Ball's  wife  is  found 
in  a  clause  of  his  will  written  June  25,  1711,  a 
few  weeks  before  his  death,  where  he  mentions 
"  Eliza  Johnson,  daughter  of  my  beloved  wife." 

Until  a  few  months  ago  it  was  supposed  that 
Mary  Ball  spent  her  childhood  and  girlhood  at 
Epping  Forest,  in  Lancaster  County;  that  she  had 
no  schooling  outside  her  home  circle  until  her 
seventeenth  year;  that  she  visited  Williamsburg  with 
her  mother  about  that  time;  that  in  1728  her 
mother  died,  and  she  went  to  England  to  visit  her 
brother  Joseph,  a  wealthy  barrister  in  London. 
Her  biographers  accepted  these  supposed  facts  and 
wove  around  them  an  enthusiastic  romance.  They 
indulged  in  fancies  of  her  social  triumphs  in  Will 
iamsburg,  the  gay  capital  of  the  colony ;  of  her 
beauty,  her  lovers  ;  how  she  was  the  "  Rose  of 
Epping  Forest,"  the  "  Toast  of  the  Gallants  of 


28     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

her  Day."  They  followed  her  to  England, — 
whence  also  Augustine  Washington  was  declared 
to  have  followed  her,  —  sat  with  her  for  her  por 
trait,  and  brought  her  back  either  the  bride,  or  soon 
to  become  the  bride,  of  Augustine  Washington  ; 
brought  back  also  the  portrait,  and  challenged  the 
world  to  disprove  the  fact  that  it  must  be  genuine 
and  a  capital  likeness,  for  had  it  not  "  George 
Washington's  cast  of  countenance  "  ? 

The  search-light  of  investigation  had  been  turned 
in  vain  upon  the  county  records  of  Lancaster. 
There  she  had  not  left  even  a  fairy  footprint. 
What  joy  then  to  learn  the  truth  from  an  acci 
dental  discovery  by  a  Union  soldier  of  a  bundle  of 
old  letters  in  an  abandoned  house  in  Yorktown  at 
the  close  of  the  Civil  War!  These  letters  seemed 
to  lift  the  veil  of  obscurity  from  the  youthful  un 
married  years  of  Mary,  the  mother  of  Washington. 
The  first  letter  is  from  Williamsburg,  1722  :  — 

"Dear  Sukey  —  Madam  Ball  of  Lancaster  and  her  sweet 
Molly  have  gone  Horn.  Mama  thinks  Molly  the  Comli- 
est  Maiden  She  Knows.  She  is  about  16  yrs.  old,  is  taller 
than  Me,  is  verry  Sensable,  Modest  and  Loving.  Her 
Hair  is  like  unto  Flax.  Her  Eyes  are  the  colour  of  Yours, 
and  her  Chekes  are  like  May  blossoms.  I  wish  You 
could  see  Her." 

A  letter  was  also  found  purporting  to  have  been 
written  by  Mary  herself  to  her  brother  in  England ; 


Traditions  of  Mary  Ball's  Early  Life          29 

defective  in  orthography,  to  be  sure,  but  written  in  a 
plain,  round  hand  :  — 

"  We  have  not  had  a  schoolmaster  in  our  neighborhood 
until  now  in  five  years.  We  have  now  a  young  minister 
living  with  us  who  was  educated  at  Oxford,  took  orders 
and  came  over  as  assistant  to  Rev.  Kemp  at  Gloucester. 
That  parish  is  too  poor  to  keep  both,  and  he  teaches  school 
for  his  board.  He  teaches  Sister  Susie  and  me,  and  Madam 
Carter's  boy  and  two  girls.  I  am  now  learning  pretty  fast. 
Mama  and  Susie  and  all  send  love  to  you  and  Mary.  This 
from  your  loving  sister, 

"  Mary  Ball." 

The  fragment  of  another  letter  was  found  by  the 
Union  soldier.  This  letter  is  signed  "  Lizzie 
Burwell  "  and  written  to  "  Nelly  Car  — ,"  but  here, 
alas  !  the  paper  is  torn.  Only  a  part  of  a  sentence 
can  be  deciphered.  "...  understand  Molly  Ball 
is  going  Home  with  her  Brother,  a  lawyer  who  lives 
in  England.  Her  Mother  is  dead  three  months 
ago."  The  date  is  "May  ye  I5th,  1728,"  and 
Mary  Ball  is  now  twenty  years  old. 

Could  any  admiring  biographer  ask  more  ? 
Flaxen  hair,  May  blossoms  —  delightful  suggestion 
of  Virginia  peach-blooms,  flowering  almond,  hedge 
roses  !  "  Sensible,  Modest,  and  Loving  !  "  What 
an  enchanting  picture  of  the  girlhood  of  the  most 
eminent  of  American  women  !  The  flying  steeds  of 
imagination  were  given  free  rein.  Away  they  went ! 
They  bore  her  to  the  gay  life  in  Williamsburg,  then 


30     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

the  provincial  capital  and  centre  of  fashionable 
society  in  the  Old  Dominion.  There  she  rode  in 
the  heavy  coaches  drawn  by  four  horses,  lumbering 
through  the  dusty  streets  :  or  she  paid  her  morning 
visits  in  the  sedan-chairs,  with  tops  hitherto  flat  but 
now  beginning  to  arch  to  admit  the  lofty  head 
dresses  of  the  dames  within.  She  met,  perhaps,  the 
haughty  soldier  ex-Governor,  who  could  show  a 
ball  which  had  passed  through  his  coat  at  Blenheim  : 
and  also  her  Serene  Highness,  Lady  Spotswood, 
immortalized  by  William  Byrd  as  "  gracious,  mod 
erate,  and  good-humored."  Who  had  not  heard  of 
her  pier  glasses  broken  by  the  tame  deer  and  how 
he  fell  back  upon  a  table  laden  with  rare  bric-a-brac 
to  the  great  damage  thereof!  Along  with  the 
records  of  the  habeas  corpus^  tiffs  with  the  burgesses, 
the  smelting  of  iron,  the  doughty  deeds  of  the 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Horseshoe,  invariable  mention 
had  been  made  of  this  disaster,  and  of  the  fact  that 
the  gracious  Lady  Spotswood  "  bore  it  with  mod 
eration  and  good-humor."  This  sublime  example 
might  have  had  some  influence  in  moulding  the 
manners  of  Mary  Ball  —  one  of  whose  crowning 
characteristics  was  a  calm  self-control,  never  shaken 
by  the  most  startling  events  ! 

And  then  we  took  ship  and  sailed  away  with  our 
heroine  to  England  —  Augustine  Washington,  as 
became  an  ardent  lover,  following  ere  long.  Anon, 
we  bore  her,  a  happy  bride,  home  again,  bringing 


Traditions  of  Mary  Ball's  Early  Life          31 

with  her  a  great  treasure,  —  a  portrait  true  to  the 
life,  every  feature  bearing  the  stamp  of  genuineness. 
Through  how  many  pages  did  we  gladly  amplify 
this,  chilled  somewhat  by  fruitless  searches  for 
"  Sister  Susie  "  !  "  Never,"  said  an  eminent  geneal 
ogist,  "never  reject  or  lose  tradition.  Keep  it, 
value  it,  record  it  as  tradition;"  but  surely  this  was 
not  tradition.  It  was  documentary  evidence, 
but  evidence  rudely  overthrown  by  another  docu 
ment, —  a  dry  old  yellow  will  lately  found  by  the 
Rev.  G.  W.  Beale  in  the  archives  of  Northumber 
land  County,  in  Virginia. 


CHAPTER   VI 

REVELATIONS    OF    AN    OLD    WILL 

THE  old  will  proves  beyond  all  question 
that  Mary  Ball's  girlhood  was  not  passed 
in  Lancaster,  that  she  had  ample  opportu 
nity  for  education,  and  was,  therefore,  not  untaught 
until  she  was  sixteen.  She,  probably,  never  visited 
Williamsburg  when  seventeen,  —  certainly  never 
with  her  mother.  There  never  was  a  Sister  Susie  ! 
At  the  time  the  Williamsburg  letter  announced  the 
recent  death  of  her  mother,  that  mother  had  for 
many  years  been  sleeping  quietly  in  her  grave. 
Moreover,  the  letter  of  Mary  herself  had  done  a 
great  injustice  to  Gloucester  parish,  which  was  not  a 
"poor  parish"  at  all  —  with  an  impecunious  curate 
working  for  his  board  —  but  a  parish  erecting  at 
that  moment  so  fine  a  church  that  Bishop  Meade's 
pious  humility  suffered  in  describing  it. 

From  Dr.  Beale's  researches  we  learn  that  the 
"  Rose  of  Epping  Forest  "  was  a  tiny  bud  indeed 
when  her  father  died  ;  that  before  her  fifth  birthday 
her  mother  had  married  Captain  Richard  Hewes,  a 
vestryman  of  St.  Stephen's  parish,  Northumber 
land,  and  removed  to  that  parish  with  her  three 

32 


Revelations  of  an  Old  Will  33 

children,  John  and  Elizabeth  Johnson,  and  our  own 
little  Mary  Ball. 

In  1713,  Captain  Hewes  died,  and  his  inventory 
was  filed  by  his  "  widow,  Mary  Hewes,"  who  also 
died  in  the  summer  of  1721.  "  It  is  seldom,"  says 
Dr.  Beale,1  commenting  upon  her  last  will  and  testa 
ment,  "  that  in  a  document  of  this  kind,  maternal 
affection  —  having  other  and  older  children  to 
share  its  bequests  —  so  concentrates  itself  upon  a 
youngest  daughter,  and  she  a  child  of  thirteen  sum 
mers.  Perhaps  of  all  the  tributes  laid  at  the  feet  of 
Mary  Washington,  none  has  been  more  heart-felt 
or  significant  of  her  worth  than  legacies  of  her  moth 
er's  last  will  and  testament,  written  as  they  were,  all 
unconsciously  of  her  future  distinction."  The  will 
discovered  by  the  Rev.  G.  W.  Beale  settles  all  con 
troversies.  For  the  benefit  of  those  who  must  see 
in  order  to  believe,  we  copy  it  verbatim. 

"  In  the  name  of  God  Amen,  the  seventeenth  Day 
December  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hun 
dred  and  twenty. 

"  I  Mary  Hewes  of  St.  Stephen's  Parish,  Northumberland 
County,  widow,  being  sick  and  weak  in  body  but  of  sound 
and  perfect  memory,  thanks  be  to  Almighty  God  for  the 
same,  and  calling  to  mind  the  uncertain  state  of  this  tran 
sitory  life,  and  that  the  flesh  must  yield  unto  Death,  when 
it  shall  please  God  to  call,  do  make  and  ordain  this  my 
last  will  and  Testament. 

1  Rev  :  G.  W.  Beale  in  the  Virginia  Historical  Magazine. 
D 


34     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"  First,  I  give  and  bequeath  my  soul  (to  God)  that  gave  it 
me,  and  my  body  to  the  Earth  to  be  buried  in  Decent 
Christian  burial  at  the  discretion  of  my  executors  in  these 
presents  nominated.  And  as  touching  such  Worldly  estate 
which  it  hath  pleased  God  to  bestow  upon  me,  I  give,  de 
vise  and  dispose  of  in  the  following  manner  and  form. 
Imprimis,  I  give  and  devise  unto  my  Daughter  Mary  Ball 
one  young  likely  negro  woman  to  be  purchased  for  her 
out  of  my  Estate  by  my  Executors  and  to  be  delivered 
unto  her  the  said  Mary  Ball  at  the  age  of  Eighteen  years, 
but,  my  will  is  that  if  the  said  Mary  Ball  should  dye  with 
out  Issue  lawfully  begotten  of  her  body  that  the  said 
negro  woman  with  her  increase  shall  return  to  my  loving 
son  John  Johnson  to  him,  his  heirs  and  assigns  forever. 

u  Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  said  Daughter  Mary 
Ball  two  gold  rings,  the  one  being  a  large  hoop  and  the 
other  a  stoned  ring. 

u  Item.  I  give  unto  my  said  Daughter  Mary  Ball  one 
young  mare  and  her  increase  which  said  mare  I  formerly 
gave  her  by  word  of  mouth. 

"  Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  said  Daughter  Mary 
Ball  sufficient  furniture  for  the  bed  her  father  Joseph  Ball 
left  her,  vizt :  One  suit  of  good  curtains  and  fallens,  one 
Rugg,  one  Quilt,  one  pair  Blankets. 

"  Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  said  Daughter  Mary 
Ball  two  Diaper  Table  clothes  marked  M.  B.  with  inck, 
and  one  Dozen  of  Diaper  napkins,  two  towels,  six  plates, 
two  pewter  dishes,  two  basins,  one  large  iron  pott,  one 
Frying  pan,  one  old  trunk. 

"  Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  said  Daughter  Mary 
Ball,  one  good  young  Paceing  horse  together  with  a  good 
silk  plush  side  saddle  to  be  purchased  by  my  Executors  out 
of  my  Estate. 


Revelations  of  an  Old  Will  35 

"  Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  Daughter  Elizabeth 
Bonum  one  suit  of  white  and  black  callico,  being  part  of 
my  own  wearing  apparel. 

u  Item.  All  the  rest  of  my  wearing  apparel  I  give  and 
bequeath  unto  my  said  Daughter  Mary  Ball,  and  I  do 
hereby  appoint  her  (to)  be  under  Tutiledge  and  govern 
ment  of  Capt.  George  Eskridge  during  her  minority. 

"  Item.  My  will  is  I  do  hereby  oblige  my  Executors  to 
pay  to  the  proprietor  or  his  agent  for  the  securing  of  my 
said  Daughter  Mary  Ball  her  land  Twelve  pounds  if  so 
much  (be)  due. 

u  Item.  All  the  rest  of  my  Estate  real  and  personal  what 
soever  and  wheresoever  I  give  and  devise  unto  my  son 
John  Johnson,  and  to  his  heirs  lawfully  to  be  begotten  of 
his  body,  and  for  default  of  such  Issue  I  give  and  devise 
the  said  Estate  unto  my  Daughter  Elizabeth  Bonum,  her 
heirs  and  assigns  forever. 

u  Item.  I  do  hereby  appoint  my  son  John  Johnson  and 
my  trusty  and  well  beloved  friend  George  Eskridge  Exec 
utors  of  this  my  last  will  and  Testament  and  also  revoke 
and  Disannul  all  other  former  wills  or  Testaments  by  me 
heretofore  made  or  caused  to  be  made  either  by  word  or 
writing,  ratifying  and  confirming  this  to  be  my  last  Will 
and  Testament  and  no  other. 

u  In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  sett  my  hand  and 
seal  the  Day  and  Date  at  first  above  written. 

"  The  mark  and   seal    of    Mary   III   Hewes.   Sig.  (Seal) 
Signed,  Sealed  and  Published  and  Declared  by  Mary  Hewes 
to  be  her  last  Will  and  Testament  in  presence  of  us. 
"  The  mark  of  Robert  x  Bradley. 
"  The  mark  of  Ralph  x  Smithurst 

u  David  Stranghan." 


36      The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

The  chief  witness  to  this  will  was  a  teacher  of  no 
mean  repute  who  lived  near  Mrs.  Hewes,  "And," 
says  Dr.  Beale,  "  others  might  be  named  who  fol 
lowed  the  same  calling  in  Mary  Ball's  girlhood  and 
near  her  home." 

The  son,  John  Johnson,  named  as  joint  executor 
in  his  mother's  will,  died  very  soon  after  her.  His 
will  and  hers  were  recorded  on  the  same  day.  The 
first  bequest  reveals  his  affection  for  his  little 
half-sister. 

"  Imprimis.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  sister  Mary 
Ball  all  my  land  in  Stafford  which  my  father-in-law  Rich 
ard  Hewes  gave  me,  to  the  said  Mary  Ball  and  her  heirs 
lawfully  to  be  begotten  of  her  body  forever." 

The  will  of  Samuel  Bonum,  husband  of  the 
"  Elizabeth  "  mentioned  in  Mrs.  Hewes's  will,  was 
probated  in  Westmoreland,  Feb.  22,  1726,  and 
contains  an  item  bequeathing  "  to  my  sister-in-law 
Mary  Ball,  my  young  dapple  gray  riding  horse." 
Mary  Ball  was  then  eighteen  years  old. 

So  it  appears  that  the  mother  of  Washington, 
although  not  rich,  according  to  the  standard  of  that 
day  or  this,  was  fairly  well  endowed  with  Virginia 
real  estate.  Also  that  she  owned  three  or  more 
riding-horses,  her  own  maid,  a  few  jewels,  and 
house  plenishing  sufficient  for  the  station  of  a  lady 
in  her  day  and  generation. 


CHAPTER    VII 

MARY  BALL'S  CHILDHOOD 

IT   is   easy  to  imagine   the   childhood  of  Mary 
Ball.     Children  in   her  day  escaped  from   the 
nursery  at  an  early  age.      They  were  not  hid 
den  away  in  convents  or  sent  to  finishing  schools. 
There  were  no  ostentatious  debuts,  no  "  coming-out 
teas."      As  soon  as  a  girJ  was  fairly  in  her  "  teens  " 
she  was  marriageable. 

Little  girls,  from  early  babyhood,  became  the  con 
stant  companions  of  their  mothers,  and  were  treated 
with  respect.  Washington  writes  gravely  of  "  Miss 
Custis,"  six  years  old.  They  worked  samplers, 
learned  to  edge  handkerchiefs  with  a  wonderful 
imitation  of  needle-point,  plaited  lace-strings  for 
stays,  twisted  the  fine  cords  that  drew  into  proper 
bounds  the  stiff  bodices,  knitted  garters  and  long 
hose,  took  lessons  on  the  harpsichord,  danced  the 
minuet,  and  lent  their  little  hands  to  "  clap  muslins" 
on  the  great  clearstarching  days,  when  the  lace 
"  steenkirk,"  and  ruffled  bosoms,  and  ample  ker 
chiefs,  were  "gotten  up"  and  crimped  into  pre 
scribed  shape.  No  lounging,  idleness,  or  loss  of 
time  was  permitted.  The  social  customs  of  the  day 

37 


38      The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

enforced  habits  of  self-control.  For  long  hours  the 
little  Mary  was  expected  to  sit  upon  high  chairs, 
with  no  relenting  pillows  or  cushions,  making  her 
manners  as  became  a  gentleman's  daughter  through 
out  the  stated  "dining  days,"  when  guests  arrived 
in  the  morning  and  remained  until  evening.  Nor 
was  her  upright  figure,  clad  in  silk  coat  and  mittens, 
capuchin  and  neckatees,  ever  absent  from  the  front 
seat  of  the  yellow  chariot  as  it  swung  heavily  through 
the  sands  to  return  these  stately  visits,  or  to  take 
her  mother  and  sister  to  old  St.  Stephen's  church. 
Arriving  at  the  latter,  she  might  possibly  have  had 
a  glimpse  now  and  then  of  other  little  girls  as  she 
paced  the  gallery  on  her  way  to  the  high-backed 
family  pew,  with  its  "  railing  of  brass  rods  with 
damask  curtains  to  prevent  the  family  from  gazing 
around  when  sitting  or  kneeling."  Swallowed  up 
in  the  great  square  pew  she  could  see  nothing. 

From  the  viewpoint  of  a  twentieth-century  child, 
her  small  feet  were  set  in  a  hard,  if  not  thorny, 
path.  The  limits  of  an  early  colonial  house 
allowed  no  space  for  the  nursery  devoted  exclu 
sively  to  a  child,  and  filled  with  every  conceiva 
ble  appliance  for  her  instruction  and  amusement. 
There  were  no  wonderful  mechanical  animals,  life 
like  in  form  and  color,  and  capable  of  exercising 
many  of  their  functions.  One  stiff-jointed,  staring, 
wooden  effigy  was  the  only  prophecy  of  the  en 
chanting  doll  family,  —  the  blue-eyed,  brown- 


Mary  Ball's  Childhood  39 

eyed,  flaxen-curled,  sleeping,  talking,  walking,  and 
dimpled  darlings  of  latter-day  children,  —  and  the 
wooden-handled  board,  faced  with  horn  and  bound 
with  brass,  the  sole  representative  of  the  child's 
picture-book  of  to-day. 
No  children's  books 
were  printed  in  Eng 
land  until  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  cen 
tury  ;  but  one  Thomas 
Flint,  a  Boston  printer, 
appreciating  the  rhymes 
that  his  mother-in-law, 
Mrs.  Goose,  sang  to 
his  children,  published 
them  in  book  form 
and  gave  them  a  name 
than  which  none  is  ~v . 
more  sure  of  immor 
tality.  This,  however, 
was  in  1719  —  too  late 

for  our  little  Mary  Ball. 

CK     u  A       i      u     u  An  old  DolL 

one  had  only  the  horn 
book  as  resource  in  the  long,  dark  days  when  the 
fairest  of  all  books  lay  hidden  beneath  the  snows  of 
winter  —  the  horn-book,  immortalized  by  Thomas 
Tickell  as  far  back  as  1636:  — 

"  Thee  will  I  sing,  in  comely  wainscot  bound, 
And  golden  verge  enclosing  thee  around  : 


40     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

The  faithful  horn  before,  from  age  to  age 
Preserving  thy  invulnerable  page  ; 
Behind,  thy  patron  saint  in  armor  shines 
With  sword  and  lance  to  guard  the  sacred  lines. 
The  instructed  handles  at  the  bottom  fixed 
Lest  wrangling  critics  should  pervert  the  text." 


The  "  sword  and  lance  "  were  in  allusion  to  the 
one  illustration  of  the  horn-book.  When  the  blue 
eyes  wearied  over  the  alphabet,  Lord's  prayer,  and 
nine  digits,  they  might  be  refreshed  with  a  picture 
of  St.  George  and  the  Dragon,  rudely  carved 
on  the  wooden  back.  The  "  instructed  handle " 
clasped  the  whole  and  kept  it  together. 

All  orphans  and  poor  children  in  colonial  Vir 
ginia  were  provided  with  public  schools  under  the 
care  of  the  vestries  of  the  parishes  —  "litle  houses," 
says  Hugh  Jones  in  1722,  "built  on  purpose  where 
are  taught  English,  writing,  etc."  Parents  were 
compelled  to  send  their  children  to  these  schools, 
and  masters  to  whom  children  were  bound  were 
required  to  give  them  schooling  until  "  ye  years  of 
twelfe  or  thereabout "  without  distinction  of  race 
or  sex.  For  instance,  in  the  vestry  book  of  Pets- 
worth  Parish,  in  Gloucester  County,  is  an  inden 
ture  dated  Oct.  30,  1716,  of  Ralph  Bevis  to  give 
George  Petsworth,  "  a  molattoe  boy  of  the  age  of 
2  years,  3  years'  schooling ;  and  carefully  to  in 
struct  him  afterwards  that  he  may  read  well  any 
part  of  the  Bible."  Having  mastered  the  Bible, 


Mary  Ball's  Childhood  41 

all    literary    possibilities    were     open     to     the     said 
George.      The  gentry,   however,  employed    private 


Horn-book. 


tutors  in  their  own  families,  —  Scotchmen  or  Eng 
lishmen  fresh  from  the  universities,  or  young 
curates  from  Princeton  or  Fagg's  Manor  in  Penn 
sylvania.  Others  secured  teachers  bv  indenture. 


42     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"In  Virginia,"  says  the  London  Magazine,  "a  clever 
servant  is  often  indentured  to  some  master  as  a 
schoolmaster."  John  Carter  of  Lancaster  directed 
in  his  will  that  his  son  Robert  should  have  "  a 
youth  servant  bought  for  him  to  teach  him  in  his 
books  in  English  or  Latin."  Early  advertisements 
in  the  Virginia  Gazette  assured  all  "  single  men 
capable  of  teaching  children  to  Read  English,  write 
or  Cypher  or  Greek  Latin  and  Mathematicks  — 
also  all  Dancing  Masters,"  that  they  "would  meet 
with  good  encouragement "  in  certain  neighbor 
hoods. 

But  this  was  after  Mary  Ball's  childhood.  Days 
of  silent  listening  to  the  talk  of  older  people  were 
probably  her  early  school  days.  In  Virginia 
there  were  books,  true,  but  the  large  libraries  of 
thirty  years  later  had  not  yet  been  brought  over. 
There  was  already  a  fine  library  at  Stratford  in 
Westmoreland.  Colonel  Byrd's  library  was  con 
sidered  vast  when  it  attained  to  "3600  titles." 
Books  were  unfashionable  at  court  in  England. 
No  power  in  heaven  or  earth  has  been  yet  found  to 
keep  the  wise  and  witty  from  writing  them,  but  in 
the  first  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  was 
very  bad  form  to  talk  about  them.  Later,  even, 
the  first  gentleman  in  England  was  always  furious  at 
the  sight  of  books.  Old  ladies  used  to  declare  that 
"  Books  were  not  fit  articles  for  drawing-rooms." 
"  Books  !  "  said  Sarah  Marlborough  ;  "  prithee, 


Mary  Ball's  Childhood  43 

don't  talk  to  me  about  books  !  The  only  books 
I  know  are  men  and  cards." 

But  there  were  earnest  talkers  in  Virginia,  and 
the  liveliest  interest  in  all  kinds  of  affairs.  It  was  a 
picturesque  time  in  the  life  of  the  colony.  Things 
of  interest  were  always  happening.  We  know  this 
of  the  little  Mary,  —  she  was  observant  and  wise, 
quiet  and  reflective.  She  had  early  opinions,  doubt 
less,  upon  the  powers  of  the  vestries,  the  African 
slave-trade,  the  right  of  a  Virginia  assembly  to  the 
privileges  of  parliament,  and  other  grave  questions 
of  her  time.  Nor  was  the  time" without  its  vivid 
romances.  Although  no  witch  was  ever  burnt  in 
Virginia,  Grace  Sherwood,  who  must  have  been 
young  and  comely,  was  arrested  "under  suspetion 
of  witchcraft,"  condemned  by  a  jury  of  old  women 
because  of  a  birth-mark  on  her  body,  and  sentenced 
to  a  seat  in  the  famous  ducking-stool,  which  had 
been,  in  the  wisdom  of  the  burgesses,  provided  to 
still  the  tongues  of  "brabbling  women,"  —  a  sen 
tence  never  inflicted,  for  a  few  glances  at  her  tear 
ful  eyes  won  from  the  relenting  justice  the  order 
that  this  ducking  was  to  be  "  in  no  wise  without  her 
consent,  or  if  the  day  should  be  rainy,  or  in  any  way 
to  endanger  her  health  !  " 

Stories  were  told  around  the  fireside  on  winter 
nights,  when  the  wooden  shutters  rattled  —  for 
rarely  before  1720  were  "windows  sasht  with  crys 
tal  glass."  The  express,  bringing  mails  from  the 


44     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 


north,  had  been  scalped  by  Indians.  Four  times  in 
one  year  had  homeward-bound  ships  been  sunk 
by  pirates.  Men,  returning  to  England  to  receive 
an  inheritance,  were  waylaid  on  the  high  seas, 
robbed,  and  murdered.  In  Virginia  waters  the 
dreaded  "  Blackbeard  "  had  it  all  his  own  way  for 
a  while.  Finally,  his  grim  head  is  brought  home  on 
the  bowsprit  of  a  Virginia  ship,  and  a  drinking-cup, 


Ducking-stool. 

rimmed  with  silver,  made  of  the  skull  that  held  his 
wicked  brains.  Of  course,  it  could  not  be  expected 
that  he  could  rest  in  his  grave  under  these  circum 
stances,  and  so,  until  fifty  years  ago  (when  possibly 
the  drinking-cup  was  reclaimed  by  his  restless  spirit), 
his  phantom  sloop  might  be  seen  spreading  its  ghostly 
sails  in  the  moonlight  on  the  York  River  and  put 
ting  into  Ware  Creek  to  hide  ill-gotten  gains  in  the 
Old  Stone  House.  Only  a  few  years  before  had 


Mary  Ball's  Childhood 


45 


the  dreadful  Tuscaroras  risen  with  fire  and   toma 
hawk  in  the  neighbor  colony  of  North   Carolina. 

Nearer  home,  in  her  own  neighborhood,  in  fact, 
were  many  suggestive  localities  which  a  child's  fears 
might  people  with  supernatural  spirits.  Although 
there  were  no  haunted  castles  with  dungeon,  moat, 
and  tower,  there  were  deserted  houses  in  lonely 


The  Old  Stone  House. 


places,  with  open  windows  like  hollow  eyes,  grave 
yards  half  hidden  by  tangled  creepers  and  wept  over 
by  ancient  willows.  About  these  there  sometimes 
hung  a  mysterious,  fitful  light  which  little  Mary, 
when  a  belated  traveller  in  the  family  coach,  passed 
with  bated  breath,  lest  warlocks  or  witches  should 
issue  therefrom,  to  say  nothing  of  the  interminable 
stretches  of  dark  forests,  skirting  ravines  fringed 


46     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

with  poisonous  vines,  and  haunted  by  the  deadly 
rattlesnake.  People  talked  of  strange,  unreal  lights 
peeping  through  the  tiny  port-holes  of  the  old  Stone 
House  on  York  River  —  that  mysterious  fortress 
believed  to  have  been  built  by  John  Smith  —  while, 
flitting  across  the  doorway,  had  been  seen  the  dusky 
form  of  Pocahontas,  clad  in  her  buckskin  robe,  with 
a  white  plume  in  her  hair :  keeping  tryst,  doubt 
less,  with  Captain  Smith,  with  none  to  hinder,  now 
that  the  dull,  puritanic  John  Rolfe  was  dead  and 
buried ;  and,  as  we  have  said,  Blackbeard's  sloop 
would  come  glimmering  down  the  river,  and  the 
bloody  horror  of  a  headless  body  would  land  and 
wend  its  way  to  the  little  fortress  which  held  his 
stolen  treasure.  Moreover,  Nathaniel  Bacon  had 
risen  from  his  grave  in  York  River,  and  been  seen 
in  the  Stone  House  with  his  compatriots,  Drum- 
mond,  Bland,  and  Hansford. 

Doubtless  such  stories  inspired  many  of  little 
Mary's  early  dreams,  and  caused  her  to  tremble  as 
she  lay  in  her  trundle-bed,  —  kept  all  day  beneath 
the  great  four  poster,  and  drawn  out  at  night, — 
unless,  indeed,  her  loving  mother  allowed  her  to 
climb  the  four  steps  leading  to  the  feather  sanctu 
ary  behind  the  heavy  curtains,  and  held  her  safe 
and  warm  in  her  own  bosom. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

GOOD    TIMES    IN    OLD    VIRGINIA 

DESPITE  the  perils  and  perplexities  of  the 
time ;  the  irreverence  and  profanity  of  the 
clergy ;  the  solemn  warning  of  the  mis 
sionary  Presbyterians ;  the  death  of  good  Queen 
Anne,  the  last  of  the  Stuarts,  so  dear  to  the  hearts 
of  loyal  Virginians  ;  the  forebodings  on  the  acces 
sion  to  the  throne  of  the  untried  Guelphs  ;  the  total 
lack  of  many  of  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of 
life,  Virginians  love  to  write  of  the  early  years  of 
the  century  as  "  the  golden  age  of  Virginia."  These 
were  the  days  known  as  the  "  good  old  times  in  old 
Virginia,"  when  men  managed  to  live  without  tele 
graphs,  railways,  and  electric  lights.  "It  was  a  happy 
era  !  "  says  Esten  Cooke.  "  Care  seemed  to  keep 
away  and  stand  out  of  its  sunshine.  There  was  a 
great  deal  to  enjoy.  Social  intercourse  was  on  the 
most  friendly  footing.  The  plantation  house  was 
the  scene  of  a  round  of  enjoyments.  The  planter 
in  his  manor  house,  surrounded  by  his  family  and 
retainers,  was  a  feudal  patriarch  ruling  everybody ; 
drank  wholesome  wine  —  sherry  or  canary  —  of  his 
own  importation  ;  entertained  every  one  ;  held  great 

47 


48     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

festivities  at  Christmas,  with  huge  log  fires  in  the 
great  fireplaces,  around  which  the  family  clan  gath 
ered.  It  was  the  life  of  the  family,  not  of  the 
world,  and  produced  that  intense  attachment  for  the 
soil  which  has  become  proverbial.  Everybody  was 
happy  !  Life  was  not  rapid,  but  it  was  satisfactory. 
The  portraits  of  the  time  show  us  faces  without 
those  lines  which  care  furrows  in  the  faces  of  the 
men  of  to-day.  That  old  society  succeeded  in  work 
ing  out  the  problem  of  living  happily  to  an  extent 
which  we  find  few  examples  of  to-day." 

"The  Virginians  of  1720,"  according  to  Henry 
Randall,  "  lived  in  baronial  splendor  ;  their  spacious 
grounds  were  bravely  ornamented ;  their  tables 
were  loaded  with  plate  and  with  the  luxuries  of 
the  old  and  new  world ;  they  travelled  in  state, 
their  coaches  dragged  by  six  horses  driven  by 
three  postilions.  When  the  Virginia  gentleman 
went  forth  with  his  household  his  cavalcade  con 
sisted  of  the  mounted  white  males  of  the  family,  the 
coach  and  six  lumbering  through  the  sands,  and  a 
retinue  of  mounted  servants  and  led  horses  bringing 
up  the  rear.  In  their  general  tone  of  character  the 
aristocracy  of  Virginia  resembled  the  landed  gentry 
of  the  mother  country.  Numbers  of  them  were 
highly  educated  and  accomplished  by  foreign  study 
and  travel.  As  a  class  they  were  intelligent,  polished 
in  manners,  high  toned,  and  hospitable,  sturdy  in  their 
loyalty  and  in  their  adherence  to  the  national  church." 


Good  Times  in  Old  Virginia  49 

Another  historian,  writing  from  Virginia  in  1720, 
says :  "  Several  gentlemen  have  built  themselves 
large  brick  houses  of  many  rooms  on  a  floor,  but 
they  don't  covet  to  make  them  lofty,  having  extent 
enough  of  ground  to  build  upon,  and  now  and  then 
they  are  visited  by  winds  which  incommode  a  tower 
ing  fabric.  Of  late  they  have  sasht  their  windows 
with  crystal  glass  ;  adorning  their  apartments  with 
rich  furniture.  They  have  their  graziers,  seedsmen, 
brewers,  gardeners,  bakers,  butchers  and  cooks  within 
themselves,  and  have  a  great  plenty  and  variety  of 
provisions  for  their  table  ;  and  as  for  spicery  and 
things  the  country  don't  produce,  they  have  con 
stant  supplies  of  'em  from  England.  The  gentry 
pretend  to  have  their  victuals  served  up  as  nicely  as 
the  best  tables  in  England." 

A  quaint  old  Englishman,  Peter  Collinson, 
writes  in  1737  to  his  friend  Bartram  when  he  was 
about  taking  Virginia  in  his  field  of  botanical  explora 
tions  :  "  One  thing  I  must  desire  of  thee,  and  do 
insist  that  thee  oblige  me  therein  :  that  thou  make 
up  that  drugget  clothes  to  go  to  Virginia  in,  and  not 
appear  to  disgrace  thyself  and  me  ;  for  these  Vir 
ginians  are  a  very  gentle,  well-dressed  people,  and 
look,  perhaps,  more  at  a  man's  outside  than  his 
inside.  For  these  and  other  reasons  pray  go  very 
clean,  neat  and  handsomely  dressed  to  Virginia. 
Never  mind  thy  clothes  :  I  will  send  more  another 
year." 


50     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Those  were  not  troublous  days  of  ever  changing 
fashion.  Garments  were,  for  many  years,  cut  after 
the  same  patterns,  varying  mainly  in  accordance 
with  the  purses  of  their  wearers.  "  The  petticoats 
of  sarcenet,  with  black,  broad  lace  printed  on  the 
bottom  and  before ;  the  flowered  satin  and  plain 
satin,  laced  with  rich  lace  at  the  bottom, "  descended 
from  mother  to  daughter  with  no  change  in  the 
looping  of  the  train  or  decoration  of  bodice  and  ruff. 
There  were  no  mails  to  bring  troublesome  letters  to 
be  answered  when  writing  was  so  difficult  and  spell 
ing  so  uncertain.  Not  that  there  was  the  smallest 
disgrace  in  bad  spelling  !  Trouble  on  that  head 
was  altogether  unnecessary. 

There  is  not  the  least  doubt  that  life,  notwithstand 
ing  its  dangers  and  limitations  and  political  anxieties, 
passed  happily  to  these  early  planters  of  Virginia. 
The  lady  of  the  manor  had  occupation  enough  and 
to  spare  in  managing  English  servants  and  negroes, 
and  in  purveying  for  a  table  of  large  proportions. 
Nor  was  she  without  accomplishments.  She  could 
dance  well,  embroider,  play  upon  the  harpsichord  or 
spinet,  and  wear  with  grace  her  clocked  stockings, 
resetted,  high-heeled  shoes  and  brave  gown  of 
"  taffeta  and  moyre  "  looped  over  her  satin  quilt. 

There  was  no  society  column  in  newspapers  to 
vex  her  simple  soul  by  awakening  unwholesome  am 
bitions.  There  was  no  newspaper  until  1736.  She 
had  small  knowledge  of  any  world  better  than  her 


Good  Times  in  Old  Virginia  51 

own,  of  bluer  skies,  kinder  friends,  or  gayer  society. 
She  managed  well  her  large  household,  loved  her 
husband,  and  reared  kindly  but  firmly  her  many 
sons  and  daughters.  If  homage  could  compensate 
for  the  cares  of  premature  marriage,  the  girl-wife 
had  her  reward.  She  lived  in  the  age  and  in  the 
land  of  chivalry,  and  her  "amiable  qualities  of  mind 
and  heart"  received  generous  praise.  As  a  matron 
she  was  adored  by  her  husband  and  her  friends. 
When  she  said,  "  Until  death  do  us  part,"  she 
meant  it.  Divorce  was  unknown;  its  possibility 
undreamed  of.  However  and  wherever  her  lot  was 
cast  she  endured  to  the  end ;  fully  assured  that 
when  she  went  to  sleep  behind  the  marble  slab  in 
the  garden  an  enumeration  of  her  virtues  would 
adorn  her  tombstone. 

In  the  light  of  the  ambitions  of  the  present  day, 
the  scornful  indifference  of  the  colonists  to  rank, 
even  among  those  entitled  to  it,  is  curious.  Very 
rare  were  the  instances  in  which  young  knights  and 
baronets  elected  to  surrender  the  free  life  in  Vir 
ginia  and  return  to  England  to  enjoy  their  titles  and 
possible  preferment.  One  such  embryo  nobleman 
is  quoted  as  having  answered  to  an  invitation  from 
the  court,  "  I  prefer  my  land  here  with  plentiful 
food  for  my  family  to  becoming  a  starvling  at  court." 

Governor  Page  wrote  of  his  father,  Mason  Page 
of  Gloucester,  born  1718,  "He  was  urged  to  pay 
court  to  Sir  Gregory  Page  whose  heir  he  was  sup- 


52     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

posed  to  be  but  he  despised  title  as  much  as  I  do  ; 
and  would  have  nothing  to  say  to  the  rich,  silly 
knight,  who  finally  died,  leaving  his  estate  to  a 
sillier  man  than  himself — one  Turner •,  who,  by  act 
of  parliament,  took  the  name  and  title  of  Gregory 
Page." 

Everything  was  apparently  settled  upon  a  firm, 
permanent  basis.  Social  lines  were  sharply  drawn, 
understood,  and  recognized.  The  court  "  at  home" 
across  the  seas  influenced  the  mimic  court  at  Williams- 
burg.  Games  that  had  been  fashionable  in  the  days 
of  the  cavaliers  were  popular  in  Virginia.  Horse- 
racing,  cock-fighting,  cards,  and  feasting,  with  much 
excess  in  eating  and  drinking,  marked  the  social  life 
of  the  subjects  of  the  Georges  in  Virginia  as  in  the 
mother  country.  It  was  an  English  colony, — wear 
ing  English  garments,  with  English  manners,  speech, 
customs,  and  fashions.  They  had  changed  their  skies 
only. 

Ccelum^  non  animum^  qui  trans  mare  currunt. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  that,  while  custom  and 
outward  observance,  friendship,  lineage,  and  close 
commercial  ties  bound  the  colony  to  England,  forces, 
of  which  neither  was  conscious,  were  silently  at  work 
to  separate  them  forever.  And  this  without  the 
stimulus  of  discontent  arising  from  poverty  or  want. 
It  was  a  time  of  the  most  affluent  abundance.  The 
common  people  lived  in  the  greatest  comfort,  as  far 
as  food  was  concerned.  Fish  and  flesh,  game,  fruits, 


Good  Times  in  Old  Virginia  53 

and  flowers,  were  poured  at  their  feet  from  a  liberal 
horn-of-plenty.  Deer,  coming  down  from  the  moun 
tains  to  feed  upon  the  mosses  that  grew  on  the  rocks 
in  the  rivers,  were  shot  for  the  sake  of  their  skins 
only,  until  laws  had  to  be  enforced  lest  the  decay 
ing  flesh  pollute  the  air.  Painful  and  hazardous  as 
were  the  journeys,  the  traveller  always  encumbered 
himself  with  abundant  provision  for  the  inner  man. 

When  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Horseshoe  ac 
complished  the  perilous  feat  of  reaching  the  summit 
of  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains,  they  had  the  honor 
of  drinking  King  George's  health  in  "  Virginia  red 
wine,  champagne,  brandy,  shrub,  cider,  canary,  cherry 
punch,  white  wine,  Irish  usquebaugh,  and  two  kinds 
of  rum,"  —  all  of  which  they  had  managed  to  carry 
along,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  all  day  for  Indians, 
and  sleeping  on  their  arms  at  night.  A  few  years 
later  we  find  Peter  Jefferson  ordering  from  Henry 
Wetherburn,  innkeeper,  the  biggest  bowl  of  arrack 
punch  ever  made,  and  trading  the  same  with  Will 
iam  Randolph  for  two  hundred  acres  of  land. 

We  are  not  surprised  to  find  that  life  was  a  brief 
enjoyment.  Little  Mary  Ball,  demurely  reading  from 
the  tombstones  in  the  old  St.  Stephen's  church,  had 
small  occasion  for  arithmetic  beyond  the  numbers  of 
thirty  or  forty  years  —  at  which  age,  having  "  Piously 
lived  and  comfortably  died,  leaving  the  sweet  per 
fume  of  a  good  reputation,"  these  light-hearted  good 
livers  went  to  sleep  behind  their  monuments. 


54     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Of  course  the  guardians  of  the  infant  colony  spent 
many  an  anxious  hour  evolving  schemes  for  the  con 
trol  of  excessive  feasting  and  junketing.  The  clergy 
were  forced  to  ignore  excesses,  not  daring  to  reprove 
them  for  fear  of  losing  a  good  living.  Their  breth 
ren  across  the  seas  cast  longing  eyes  upon  Virginia. 
It  was  an  age  of  intemperance.  The  brightest  wits 
of  England,  her  poets  and  statesmen,  were  "  hard 
drinkers."  "All  my  hopes  terminate,"  said  Dean 
Swift  in  1709,  "in  being  made  Bishop  of  Virginia." 
There  the  Dean,  had  he  been  so  inclined,  could  hope 
for  the  high  living  and  hard  drinking  which  were  in 
fashion.  There,  too,  in  the  tolerant  atmosphere  of 
a  new  country,  he  might  —  who  knows?  —  have  felt 
free  to  avow  his  marriage  with  the  unhappy  Stella. 

In  Virginia  the  responsibility  of  curbing  the  fun- 
loving  community  devolved  upon  the  good  burgesses, 
travelling  down  in  their  sloops  to  hold  session  at 
Williamsburg.  We  find  them  making  laws  restrain 
ing  the  jolly  planters.  A  man  could  be  presented  for 
gaming,  swearing,  drunkenness,  selling  crawfish  on 
Sunday,  becoming  engaged  to  more  than  one  woman 
at  a  time,  and,  as  we  have  said,  there  was  always 
the  ducking-stool  for  "  brabbling  women  who  go 
about  from  house  to  house  slandering  their  neigh 
bors  : —  a  melancholy  proof  that  even  in  those  Ar 
cadian  days  the  tongue  required  control." 


CHAPTER    IX 

MARY  BALL'S  GUARDIAN  AND  HER  GIRLHOOD 

EXCEPT  for  the  bequest  in  her  brother-in- 
law's  will,  nothing  whatever  is  known  of 
Mary  Ball  for  nine  years  —  indeed,  until 
her  marriage  with  Augustine  Washington  in  1730. 
The  traditions  of  these  years  are  all  based  upon 
the  letters  found  by  the  Union  soldier,  —  genuine 
letters,  no  doubt,  but  relating  to  some  other  Mary 
Ball  who,  in  addition  to  the  flaxen  hair  and  May- 
blossom  cheeks,  has  had  the  honor  of  masquerad 
ing,  for  nearly  forty  years,  as  the  mother  of 
Washington,  and  of  having  her  story  and  her 
letters  placed  reverently  beneath  the  corner-stone 
of  the  Mary  Washington  monument. 

Mary  Ball,  only  thirteen  years  old  when  her 
mother  died,  would  naturally  be  taken  to  the  West 
moreland  home  of  her  sister  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
Samuel  Bonum  and  only  survivor,  besides  herself, 
of  her  mother's  children.  Elizabeth  was  married 
and  living  in  her  own  house  seven  years  before 
Mrs.  Hewes  died.  The  Bonum  residence  was  but 
a  few  miles  distant  from  that  of  Mrs.  Hewes,  and 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  Sandy  Point,  where  lived  the 

55 


56      The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"  well-beloved  and  trusty  friend  George  Eskridge." 
Major  Eskridge  "  seated "  Sandy  Point  in  West 
moreland  about  1720.  The  old  house  was  standing 
until  eight  years  ago,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
He  had  seven  children ;  the  fifth  child,  Sarah,  a 
year  older  than  Mary  Ball  and  doubtless  her  friend 
and  companion. 

Under  the  "  tutelage  and  government  "  of  a  man 
of  wealth,  eminent  in  his  profession  of  the  law,  the 
two  little  girls  would  naturally  be  well  and  faith 
fully  instructed.  We  can  safely  assume,  consider 
ing  all  these  circumstances,  that  Mary  Ball's  girlhood 
was  spent  in  the  "  Northern  Neck  of  Virginia," 
and  at  the  homes  of  Major  Eskridge  and  her  only 
sister ;  and  that  these  faithful  guardians  provided 
her  with  as  liberal  an  education  as  her  station  de 
manded  and  the  times  permitted  there  cannot  be 
the  least  doubt.  Her  own  affectionate  regard  for 
them  is  emphatically  proven  by  the  fact  that  she 
gave  to  her  first-born  son  the  name  of  George 
Eskridge,  to  another  son  that  of  Samuel  Bonum, 
and  to  her  only  daughter  that  of  her  sister  Eliza 
beth. 

Tradition  tells  us  that  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  George  Eskridge,  who  was  a 
young  law  student,  while  walking  along  the  shore 
on  the  north  coast  of  Wales,  studying  a  law-book, 
was  suddenly  seized  by  the  Press  Gang,  carried 
aboard  ship  and  brought  to  the  colony  of  Virginia. 


Mary  Ball's  Guardian  and  her  Girlhood       57 

As  the  custom  was,  he  was  sold  to  a  planter  for  a 
term  of  eight  years.  During  that  time,  he  was  not 
allowed  to  communicate  with  his  friends  at  home. 
He  was  treated  very  harshly,  and  made  to  lodge  in 
the  kitchen,  where  he  slept,  because  of  the  cold, 
upon  the  hearth. 

On  the  day  that  his  term  of  service  expired  he 
rose  early,  and  with  his  mattock  dislodged  the 
stones  of  the  hearth.  Upon  his  master's  remon 
strance,  he  said,  "  The  bed  of  a  departing  guest 
must  always  be  made  over  for  his  successor;"  and 
throwing  down  his  mattock  he  strode  out  of  the 
house,  taking  with  him  the  law-book  which  had 
been  his  constant  companion  during  his  years  of 
slavery. 

He  returned  to  England,  completed  his  law 
studies,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and,  returning 
to  Virginia,  was  granted  many  thousand  acres  of 
land,  held  several  colonial  positions,  and  became 
eminent  among  the  distinguished  citizens  of  the 
"  Northern  Neck,"  —  the  long,  narrow  strip  of 
land  included  between  the  Potomac  and  the  Rap- 
pahannock  rivers.  His  daughter,  Sarah,  married 
Willoughby  Newton,  and  lived  near  Bonum  Creek 
in  Westmoreland.  The  family  intermarried,  also, 
with  the  Lee,  Washington,  and  other  distinguished 
families  in  the  Northern  Neck. 


CHAPTER   X 

YOUNG     MEN     AND     MAIDENS    OF    THE     OLD    DOMINION 

THE  social  setting  for  Mary  Ball  —  now  a 
young  lady  —  is  easily  defined.  It  matters 
little  whether  she  did  or  did  not  visit  her 
brother  in  England.  She  certainly  belonged  to  the 
society  of  Westmoreland,  "  the  finest,"  says  Bishop 
Meade,  "  for  culture  and  sound  patriotism  in  the 
Colony."  Around  her  lived  the  families  of  Mason, 
Taliaferro,  Mountjoy,  Travers,  Moncure,  Mercer, 
Tayloe,  Ludwell,  Fitzhugh,  Lee,  Newton,  Washing 
ton,  and  others  well  known  as  society  leaders  in 
1730.  If  she  was,  as  her  descendants  claim  for  her, 
"  The  Toast  of  the  Gallants  of  Her  Day,"  these 
were  the  "  Gallants,"  -  many  of  them  the  fathers 
of  men  who  afterward  shone  like  stars  in  the  galaxy 
of  revolutionary  heroes. 

The  gallants  doubtless  knew  and  visited  their 
tide-water  friends,  —  the  Randolphs,  Blands,  Harri 
sons,  Byrds,  Nelsons,  and  Carters,  —  and,  like  them, 
followed  the  gay  fashions  of  the  day.  They  wrote 
sonnets  and  acrostics  and  valentines  to  their  Belin 
das,  Florellas,  Fidelias,  and  Myrtyllas  —  the  real 
names  of  Molly,  Patsy,  Ann,  and  Mary  being 

58 


Men  and  Maidens  of  the  Old  Dominion 


59 


reckoned  too  homespun  for  the  court  of  Cupid. 
These  gallants  wore  velvet  and  much  silk ;  the 
long  vests  that  Charles  the  Second  had  invented  as 
"  a  fashion  for  gentlemen  of  all  time " ;  curled, 
powdered  wigs,  silver  and  gold  lace ;  silken  hose 
and  brilliant  buckles.  Many  of  them  had  been 
educated  abroad,  or  at  William  and  Mary  College, 
—  where  they  had  been  rather  a  refractory  set, 
whose  enormities  must  be  winked  at,  —  even  going 
so  far  as  to  "  keep  race-horses  at  ye  college,  and 
bet  at  ye  billiard  and  other  gaming  tables."  What 
ever  their  sins  or  shortcomings,  they  were  warm 
hearted  and  honorable,  and  most  chivalrous  to 
women.  It  was  fashionable  to  present  locks  of 
hair  tied  in  true-lovers'  knots,  to  tame  cardinal- 
birds  and  mocking-birds  for  the  colonial  damsels, 
to  serenade  them  with  songs  and  stringed  instru 
ments  under  their  windows  on  moonlight  nights, 
to  manufacture  valentines  of  thinnest  cut  paper  in 
intricate  foldings,  with  tender  sentiments  tucked 
shyly  under  a  bird's  wing  or  the  petal  of  a  flower. 

With  the  youthful  dames  themselves,  in  hoop, 
and  stiff  bodice,  powder  and  "  craped "  tresses, 
who  cut  watch-papers  and  worked  book-marks  for 
the  gallants,  we  are  on  terms  of  intimacy.  We 
know  all  their  "  tricks  and  manners,"  through  the 
laughing  Englishman,  and  their  own  letters.  An 
unpublished  manuscript  still  circulates  from  hand 
to  hand  in  Virginia,  under  oath  of  secrecy,  for  it 


60     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

contains  a  tragic  secret,  which  reveals  the  true  char 
acter  of  the  mothers  of  Revolutionary  patriots. 
These  letters  express  high  sentiment  in  strong, 
vigorous  English,  burning  with  patriotism  and 
ardent  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  united  colo 
nies —  not  alone  to  Virginia.  The  spelling,  and 
absurdly  plentiful  capitals,  were  those  of  the  period, 
and  should  provoke  no  criticism.  Ruskin  says, 
"  no  beauty  of  execution  can  outweigh  one  grain  or 
fragment  of  thought."  Beauty  of  execution  and 
good  spelling,  according  to  modern  standards,  do 
not  appear  in  the  letters  of  Mary  Ball  and  her 
friends,  but  they  are  seasoned  with  many  a  grain 
of  good  sense  and  thought. 

Of  course  we  cannot  know  the  names  of  her  best 
friends.  Her  social  position  entitled  her  to  inti 
macy  with  the  sisters  of  any  or  all  of  the  "gallants" 
we  have  named.  She  might  have  known  Jane 
Randolph,  already  giving  her  heart  to  plain  Peter 
Jefferson,  and  destined  to  press  to  her  bosom  the 
baby  fingers  that  grew  to  frame  the  Declaration  of 
Independence;  or  Sarah  Winston,  whose  brilliant 
talents  flashed  in  such  splendor  from  the  lips  of 
Patrick  Henry  ;  or  ill-starred  Evelyn  Byrd,  whose 
beauty  had  fired  the  sluggish  veins  of  George  II 
and  inspired  a  kingly  pun  upon  her  name, 
"  Much  have  I  heard,  lady,  of  thy  fair  country,  but 
of  the  beauty  of  its  birds  I  know  but  now,"  —  all 
these  and  more ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  mother  of 


Men  and  Maidens  of  the  Old  Dominion      61 

Sally  and  Molly  Gary,  of  Lucy  Grymes,  of  Betsy 
Fauntleroy,  and  of  Mary  Bland,  each  of  whom  has 
been  claimed  by  Lossing  and  others  to  be  the 
Lowland  beauty,  to  whom  her  illustrious  son  wrote 
such  wonderful  sonnets,  but  quite  impossible  in  the 
case  of  Mary  Bland,  seeing  she  was  born  in  1704, 
and  was  some  years  older  than  his  mother. 

They  were  a  light-hearted  band  of  maidens  in 
these  pre-Revolutionary  days  in  the  "  Old  Domin 
ion  !  "  They  had  no  dreams  sadder  than  mystic 
dreams  on  bride's  cake,  no  duties  except  those  im 
posed  by  affection,  no  tasks  too  difficult,  no  burdens 
too  heavy.  They  sang  the  old-time  songs,  and 
danced  the  old-time  dances,  and  played  the  old-time 
English  games  around  the  Christmas  fires,  burning 
nuts,  and  naming  apple  seeds,  and  loving  their  loves 
"with  an  A  or  a  B,"  even  although  my  Lady 
Castlemaine,  of  whom  no  one  could  approve,  had 
so  entertained  her  very  doubtful  friends  a  hundred 
years  before.  They  had  the  Pyrrhic  dances,  but 
they  had  the  Pyrrhic  phalanx  as  well !  The  "  no 
bler  and  manlier  lessons  "  were  not  forgotten  in  all 
the  light-hearted  manners  of  the  age. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  TOAST  OF  THE  GALLANTS  OF  HER  DAY 

OF  the  "  Mistress  Mary  Ball's  "  personal  ap 
pearance  we  know  nothing,  unless  we  can 
guide  our  imaginations  by  the  recollections 
of  old  Fredericksburg  neighbors  who  knew  her  after 
she  had  passed  middle  age.  Washington  Irving  says 
she  was  a  beauty  and  a  belle.  He  had  only  one 
source  of  information,  George  Washington  Parke 
Custis,  the  sole  eye-witness  who  wrote  of  her  personal 
appearance  in  middle  life.  Sparks,  Lossing,  and  all 
the  rest  who  have  described  her,  had  no  other. 
Parson  Weems,  of  course,  had  something  to  say  ; 
but  we  do  not  know  that  he  ever  saw  her.  Any 
pen-portrait  made  of  her  to-day  can  boast  only  an 
outline  of  truth.  Probability  and  imagination  must 
fill  in  the  picture.  It  is  certain  that  she  was 
"  finely  formed,  her  features  pleasing,  yet  strongly 
marked/'  That  is  all !  Has  not  some  one  said 
"  her  eyes  were  blue  "  ?  Well,  then,  fair  hair  and 
fair  complexion  would  match  the  blue  eyes.  She 
was  purely  English.  Her  mother  was  probably 
born  in  England,  her  grandmother  and  grand 
father  were  certainly  born  and  reared  there.  Her 

62 


The  Toast  of  the  Gallants  of  her  Day         63 

type  was  that  of  an  athletic,  healthy  Englishwoman, 
to  whom  an  upright  carriage  and  much  out-of-door 
life  gave  a  certain  style.  I,  for  one,  am  assured  that 
she  was  handsome  and  distingue,  —  a  superb  woman 
in  every  particular.  She  possessed  a  pure,  high 
spirit,  and 

"  Every  spirit  as  it  is  most  pure 

And  hath   in  it  the  more  of  heavenly  light  — 

So  it  the  fairer  bodie  doth  procure 

To  habit  in." 

Imagination  and  probability  join  hands  in  picturing 
her  on  horseback.  She  was  a  fearless  and  expert 
horsewoman.  At  thirteen  years  of  age  she  had 
owned  her  own  mount,  her  own  plush  saddle. 
Now,  at  twenty,  we  find  her  in  "  habit,  hat,  and 
feather "  at  home  on  her  own  dapple-gray,  her 
brother-in-law's  gift  —  she  was  too  good  a  horse 
woman  for  mad  gallops  —  "pacing"  through  the 
lanes  in  Westmoreland  to  and  fro  from  Bonum 
Creek  to  Sandy  Point,  or  to  Yeocomico  church,  or 
to  superintend  her  own  fields.  Her  English  habit 
is  of  scarlet  cloth,  long  and  flowing  as  to  the  skirt 
and  tightly  fitted  as  to  the  bodice.  Her  hat  is  of 
beaver,  and  hat  and  floating  plume  alike  are  black. 

This  is  a  pleasing  picture  of  the  mother  of  our 
adored  Washington,  and  it  is  as  true  a  picture  as 
we  have  authority  for  drawing.  It  would  have 
helped  much  if  we  could  have  accepted  any  one  of 
the  portraits  claiming  to  be  genuine,  although  no 


64     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

one  of  them  expresses  the  type  which  we  may  rea 
sonably  suppose  to  have  been  hers.  Her  own 
descendants  and  the  wisest  historians  declare  she 
left  no  portrait.  A  picture,  claiming  to  be  such, 
hangs  to-day  in  Lancaster  court-house  —  one  that 
was  genuine  was  burned  in  the  home  of  her  early 
married  life.  Handsome  and  stately  she  certainly 
was.  Nor  can  we  suppose  from  the  character  de 
veloped  in  her  early  maternal  life,  that  she  mingled 
to  any  extent  in  the  gayeties  of  her  time.  In  no 
letter,  no  record  of  any  kind,  is  her  name  mentioned 
until  her  marriage.  She  was  doubtless  always  grave, 
always  thoughtful,  concerning  herself  much  with  her 
religious  duties,  industrious  in  womanly  occupations, 
reverently  attentive  to  the  services  at  Yeocomico 
church,  of  which  the  Eskridge  family  were  mem 
bers. 

We  may  be  sure  she  was  instructed  in  danc 
ing —  the  universal  accomplishment  of  the  time. 
The  saintly  blind  preacher,  James  Waddell,  had 
his  daughters,  to  the  great  scandal  of  his  Presbyte 
rian  followers,  taught  to  dance ;  his  defence  being 
that  "  no  parent  has  a  right  to  make  his  children 
unfit  for  polite  society."  Members  of  the  Lee, 
Corbyn,  and  other  influential  families  of  her  neigh 
borhood  urged  the  building  of  a  "  Banquetting 
House"  —  a  rustic  casino  —  in  Pickatown's  Field 
in  Westmoreland,  according  to  contracts  made  years 
before,  "  to  make  an  Honourable  treatment  fit  to 


The  Toast  of  the  Gallants  of  her  Day         65 

entertain  the  undertakers  thereof,  their  wives,  mis 
tresses  (sweethearts)  and  friends,  yearly  and  every 
year ; "  and  the  "  yearly  and  every  year "  was 
likely  to  be  construed,  as  the  merry  colonists  knew 
well  how  to  construe  all  opportunities  for  pleasure. 
For  despite  Francis  Makernie,  James  Waddell,  and 
the  truly  evangelical  priests  of  the  Established 
Church  —  of  whom  there  were  still  some  —  the 
times  went  merrily  in  old  Virginia ;  and  the  waters 
of  the  York  had  cooled  long  ago  the  fevered  blood 
of  the  first  martyr  to  freedom ;  and  Benjamin 
Franklin  was  composing  ballads  upon  "  Blackbeard, 
the  pyrate,"  to  say  nothing  of  rollicking  rhymes  fit 
no  longer  for  ears  polite  ;  and  Patrick  Henry,  and 
Richard  Henry  Lee,  and  George  Washington  were 
yet  unborn. 

The  veil  of  obscurity  which  hangs  over  the 
unmarried  life  of  Mary  Ball  will  never  be  lifted. 
The  evidence  is  all  in,  the  testimony  all  taken. 
It  is  certain  that  she  could  hardly  escape  the  social 
round  in  the  gay  society  of  Westmoreland,  and 
quite  as  certain  that  she  was  not  a  prominent  part 
of  it.  When  the  gardener  desires  the  perfecting  of 
some  flower,  to  bloom  but  once  in  a  twelve-month, 
he  keeps  it  secluded  in  some  cool,  dark  spot  —  only 
when  well  rooted  bringing  it  forth  into  the  sunlight. 
Thus  the  mind  and  character  grow  best  in  quiet  and 
seclusion,  becoming  serene,  strong,  and  superior  to 
petty  passions.  When  Mary  Ball's  hour  was  come, 


66     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

when  her  high  vocation  was  pressed  upon  her,  she 
was  rooted  and  grounded  in  all  things  requisite  for 
her  exalted  but  difficult  lot. 

The  years  of  which  we  have  no  record  included 
the  formative  period  of  her  life.  They  were  dark 
years  in  the  religious  history  of  the  colony.  She 
could  have  small  help  from  the  clerical  guides  of 
the  day.  Even  at  the  best,  a  church  service  was 
mainly  a  social  function,  —  prayers  hurriedly  read, 
perfunctory  sermon  of  short  duration,  followed  by 
a  social  half-hour  for  the  purpose  of  giving  and 
accepting  invitations  to  dinner.  The  dinner  ended 
with  the  inevitable  punch  bowl,  over  which  the 
clergyman  was  often  the  first  to  become  incapable 
of  pursuing  his  journey  home.  It  had  not  been  so 
very  long  since  a  rector  of  the  Wicomoco  church 
had  reached  the  limit  of  irreverence.  While  admin 
istering  the  Communion  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
upon  tasting  the  bread,  he  had  cried  out  to  the 
church  warden,  "  George,  this  bread  is  not  fit  for  a 

dog."1 

A  more  unwilling  witness  against  the  clergy  than 
good  Bishop  Meade  can  hardly  be  imagined.  He 
tells  of  one  who  was  for  years  the  president  of  a 
jockey  club  ;  of  another  who  was  an  habitue  of  the 
bar  of  a  country  tavern,  often  seen  reeling  to  and 
fro  with  a  bowl  of  "  toddy  "  in  his  hands,  challeng 
ing  the  passers-by  to  "  come  in  and  have  a  drink  "  ; 

1  Foote's  "  Sketches  of  Virginia." 


The  Toast  of  the  Gallants  of  her  Day         67 

of  still  another  who  indulged  in  a  fisticuff  with  some 
of  his  vestrymen,  floored  them,  and  next  Sunday 
preached  a  sermon  from  Nehemiah,  "And  I  con 
tended  with  them  and  cursed  them  and  smote  cer 
tain  of  them,  and  plucked  off  their  hair  !  "  (Let  us 
hope  they  were  "  Gentlemen "  and  therefore  wore 
the  wigs  fashionable  in  their  day.  "  Plucked  off" 
seems  to  imply  as  much.)  One  of  these  recreant 
rectors  fought  a  duel  within  the  grounds  of  his  own 
church ;  all  of  them,  according  to  a  report  made  to 
the  Bishop  of  London,  were  either  "  slothful  and 
negligent  "  or  "  debauched  and  bent  on  all  manner 
of  vices." 

No  one  of  the  Established  Church  ever  gave  his 
services.  They  were  paid  for  by  the  piece  or  dozen 
like  any  other  merchantable  article.  In  St.  Stephen's 
parish  the  vestry  book,  in  1712,  records  the  price 
of  sermons,  for  instance,  to  "  Rev.  John  Bell  for 
eight  sermons  450  pounds  of  tobacco  apiece."  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Lechardy  rated  his  eloquence  at  a  lower 
figure,  "  for  two  sermons  600  pounds  of  tobacco," 
etc.  Notwithstanding  the  velvet  and  lace,  the  pow 
der,  perfume,  and  high-flown  compliments  of  "  the 
gallants  of  the  early  eighteenth  century  "  license  of 
speech  was  universal.  Colonel  Byrd,  the  courtly 
master  of  Westover,  wrote  letters  too  gross  for  the 
pages  of  a  reputable  magazine.  Swearing  among 
women  was  as  common  as  in  the  "  spacious  times 
of  great  Elizabeth."  From  all  this,  no  tutelage  and 


68      The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

government,  however  careful,  could  insure  escape. 
In  spite  of  all  this  and  more,  Mary  Ball  acquired 
the  refinement  and  moderation  of  speech  by  which 
she  was  characterized. 


CHAPTER    XII 

HER    MARRIAGE    AND    EARLY    LIFE 


"  f  •  ^\HE  f  Rose  of  Popping  Forest/"  says  one 
of  her  descendants,  "  and  '  reigning  Belle 
-*-  of  the  Northern  Neck,'  as  she  was  uni 
versally  styled,  would,  in  common  parlance,  be  called 
(  hard  to  please,'  in  that,  in  times  when  marriages 
were  early  she  did  not  resign  her  sceptre  until  she 
had  attained  the  then  ripe  age  of  twenty-two  —  not 
Move-inspiring  sixteen,'  as  Parson  Weems  would 
have  us  believe.  In  this  she  exhibited  that  consum 
mate  wisdom,  calm  equipoise  of  soul,  and  perfect 
self-control  so  strikingly  displayed  throughout  her 
subsequent  career." 

She  was  blessed  then  with  the  priceless  gift  of  a 
long  and  happy  girlhood  —  that  sweet  fountain  of 
pure  waters,  the  memory  of  which  has  cheered  so 
many  women  throughout  a  long  and  difficult  life. 
In  her  day  so  late  a  marriage  was  not  only  eccentric 
but  something  to  be  condemned  as  unwise.  The 
reluctant  Virginia  belle  was  warned  that  those  who 
"  walked  through  the  woods  with  a  haughty  spirit 
would  have  to  stoop  at  last  and  pick  up  a  crooked 
stick."  That  women  could  stand  alone  was  unthink- 

69 


yo     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

able  in  those  days.  A  staff  was  essential,  and  she 
who  scorned  the  stately  saplings  of  the  forest  would 
surely  be  forced  at  last  to  accept  some  inferior 
windfall. 

But  Mary  Ball  chose  wisely  and  well ;  of  this  we 
may  be  sure.  Augustine  Washington  died  before 
he  could  earn  the  honor  of  impressing  her  life  or 
that  of  his  illustrious  son. 

He  belonged  to  an  old  English  family  which  had 
sent  two  of  its  members  to  Virginia  early  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  his 
grandfather  held  positions  of  honor  and  trust  in 
the  colony. 

With  the  origin  of  his  crest,  —  the  closed  visor, 
the  soaring  raven, — with  the  motto  Excitus  acta 
•probat^  we  need  not  concern  ourselves.  The  shield 
itself  is  more  to  our  purpose,  for  it  furnished  the 
pattern  for  the  Stars  and  Stripes  of  this  country ; 
and  is  surely  of  all  insignia  the  most  distinguished, 
since  in  all  lands,  on  all  waters,  amid  all  the  emblems 
of  the  pride  of  the  world,  it  stands  preeminent  as 
the  emblem  of  freedom  won  by  valor. 

It  should  be  quite  enough  for  us  to  know,  "He 
was  a  gentleman  of  high  standing,  noble  character, 
large  property  and  considerable  personal  attractions, 
being  of  fair  complexion,  tall  stature,  commanding 
presence  and  an  age  not  disproportioned  to  her 
own/*  He  was  a  neighbor  of  Major  George  Esk- 
ridge,  although  their  homes  were  fifteen  or  twenty 


Her  Marriage  and  Early  Life  71 

miles  distant  from  each  other.  We  have  all  sup 
posed  that  he  followed  Mary  Ball  to  England  and 
was  married  there.  Possibly,  not  probably.  He 
was  a  plain  Virginia  planter,  immersed  in  business 
and  domestic  cares,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  he 
went  to  England  in  quest  of  Mary  Ball.  Why 
should  he  cross  the  ocean  to  gather  the  flower  that 
grew  at  his  threshold  ? 

It  is  much  more  likely  that  he  rode  over  to  attend 
service  in  the  handsome,  recently  erected  Yeocomico 
church,  and  to  visit  George  Eskridge  at  Sandy 
Point,  coming  with  his  first  wife  and  their  little 
boys,  Lawrence  and  Augustine.  Elizabeth  Bonum 
lived  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Sandy  Point.  It  is 
quite  certain  that  all  the  families  in  this  hospitable 
region  knew  and  visited  each  other.  Mary  Ball 
probably  knew  Augustine  Washington  well,  long 
before  he  was  a  widower. 

All  this  seems  prosaic  by  contrast  with  the  legend 
that  "  the  fair  American  "  met  her  future  husband 
while  she  was  visiting  her  half-brother  in  a  Berkshire 
town  in  England  ;  that  one  day  a  gentleman  was 
thrown  from  his  travelling  chariot  in  front  of  her 
brother's  gate,  was  seriously  injured,  brought  in  and 
nursed  by  the  fair  hands  of  Mary  herself;  that  love 
and  marriage  followed  in  short  order ;  that  the  pair 
lived  several  years  in  a  villa  at  Cookham.  All  this 
is  so  much  more  attractive  than  a  plain  story  of 
propinquity  and  old-fashioned  neighborhood  friend- 


72      The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

ship,  blossoming  into  a  temperate,  middle-aged,  old- 
fashioned  widower-love  and  marriage  !  But  we  are 
constrained  to  accept  the  latter,  having  no  proof  of 
anything  better.  Besides,  where  were  Lawrence 
and  Augustine  during  all  those  halcyon  years  ? 
Who  was  looking  after  those  lambs  while  the 
Shepherd  was  disporting  himself  at  villas  in  Cook- 
ham  ? 

The  snows  had  melted  from  the  violet  beds,  and 
the  "  snow-birds  "  were  nesting  in  the  cedars  when 
our  Mary  left  her  girlhood's  home  to  become  the 
wife  of  Augustine  Washington.  Her  new  home 
was  a  large,  old-fashioned  house  on  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac  —  one  of  those  dwellings  with  great  low- 
stretching  roof,  which  always  reminds  me  of  a  gigan 
tic  fowl  brooding  with  expanded  wings  over  its 
young.  It  was  not  one  of  the  imposing  colonial 
houses  just  then  (March  6,  1730)  in  process  of  erec 
tion.  Marion  Harland  says,  in  her  reverent  "Story 
of  Mary  Washington  ":  "  Augustine  Washington's 
plantation  of  Wakefield  rested  upon  the  Potomac, 
and  was  a  mile  in  width.  Wakefield  comprised  a 
thousand  acres  of  as  fine  wood  and  bottom  land  as 
were  to  be  found  in  a  county  that  by  reason  of  the 
worth,  talents  and  patriotism  that  adorned  it  was 
called  the  Athens  of  Virginia.  The  house  faced 
the  Potomac,  the  lawn  sloping  to  the  bank  between 
three  and  four  hundred  yards  distant  from  the 
c  porch/  running  from  corner  to  corner  of  the  old 


Her  Marriage  and  Early  Life  73 

dwelling.  There  were  four  rooms  of  fair  size  upon 
the  first  floor,  the  largest  in  a  one-story  extension 
in  the  back  being  the  chamber.  The  high  roof  above 
the  main  building  was  pierced  by  dormer  windows 
that  lighted  a  large  attic.  At  each  end  of  the  house 
was  a  chimney  built  upon  the  outside  of  the  frame 
dwelling  and  of  dimensions  that  made  the  latter  seem 
disproportionately  small.  Each  cavernous  fireplace 
would  hold  half  a  cord  of  wood.  About  the  fire 
place  in  the  parlor  were  the  blue  Dutch  tiles  much 
affected  in  the  decorative  architecture  of  the  time." 
Here  we  can  fancy  the  bride,  covertly  exploring  her 
new  home  and  scanning  the  footprints  of  her  prede 
cessor  ;  keeping  her  own  counsel,  but  instructing 
herself  as  to  what  manner  of  woman  had  first  en 
throned  herself  in  the  bosom  of  her  lord. 

It  appears  she  was  arrested  in  this  voyage  of 
discovery  by  a  small  but  rare  treasure  of  books. 
Standing  before  the  diamond-paned  "  secretary," 
she  examined  one  volume  after  another.  Finally, 
turning  over  the  leaves  of  one,  she  read :  "  On 
Moderation  and  Anger,"  "On  Self-Denial,"  "On 
ye  Vanity  and  Vexation  which  ariseth  from  Worldly 
Hope  and  Expectation."  These  seemed  to  her 
words  of  wisdom  by  which  one  might  be  guided. 
The  title-page  announced  "  Sir  Matthew  Hale's 
Contemplations,"  the  fly-leaf  revealed  the  name 
of  the  owner,  the  first  wife,  "Jane  Washington." 
Finding  the  ink-horn,  she  wrote  firmly  beneath, 


74     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"  And  Mary  Washington  "  — probably  the  first  time 
she  had  written  the  new  name.  We  all  know  the 
rest :  how  this  book  of  England's  learned  Judge 
never  left  her  side  ;  how  she  read  it  to  her  stepsons 
and  her  own  sons  ;  how  it  was  reverenced  by  George 
Washington  ;  how  it  is  treasured  to-day  at  our 
National  Mecca,  Mount  Vernon. 


CHAPTER   XIII 


his 


BIRTHPLACE    OF    GEORGE    WASHINGTON 

AT  the  Wakefield  house  was  born,  Feb.  22, 
1732,  the  eldest  son  of  this  superb  speci 
men     of     young    American     womanhood. 
There  is  not  the  least 
doubt  that  he  was  in 
every  respect  "  a  fine 
boy  "   and  worthy   of 
the     best     name 
mother      could 
him. 

She  did  not  follow 
the  invariable  custom 
of  colonial  Virginians. 
He  was  not  called 
"John"  or  "Augus 
tine"  or  "Joseph" 
after  his  father  or 
grandfathers.  He 
was  given  the  first 
name  of  the  "  Trusty 
and  well-beloved  George  Eskridge," —  a  fact  which 
has  hitherto  escaped  the  notice  of  biographers, — 

75 


Monument  at  Wakefield  marking  the 
Birthplace  of  George  Washington. 


76     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

and  no  more  significant  tribute  could  have  been 
paid  to  faithful  guardianship.  According  to  Vir 
ginia  customs,  her  only  daughter  would  naturally 
have  been  named  for  her  mother  and  grandmother, 
but  here,  again,  affectionate  gratitude  for  an  elder 
sister's  love  to  a  motherless  girl  decided  the  name. 

The  old  house  with  the  brooding  wings  burned 
down  soon  after  —  the  thrifty  young  housewife  set 
ting  fire  to  it,  not  by  "warming  her  posset,"  but  in 
her  zealous  burning  up  of  the  leaves  and  debris  of 
her  garden.  Her  husband  was  absent  at  the  time, 
but  she  saved  some  furniture  and  Sir  Matthew  Hale 
-and  we  read  that  the  family  "dined  that  day  "  in 
apparent  content  "  in  the  kitchen."  It  is  certain 
there  was  no  great  loss  of  pictures,  hangings,  bric-a- 
brac,  bibelots,  and  the  ten  thousand  trifles  with 
which  the  housewife  of  a  later  day  would  have  been 
encumbered.  In  the  old  wills,  after  disposition 
had  been  made  of  the  bed,  furniture,  and  "  Rugg," 
there  seems  to  have  been  little  worth  the  dignity  of  a 
bequest.  The  rug — always  included  with  the  bed 
and  its  belongings —  was  the  only  carpet  in  general 
use  in  1730.  Besides  these,  a  chamber  could  boast 
of  little  except  a  tall  table  surmounted  by  a  small 
mirror,  before  which  one  must  stand  in  arranging 
the  head-dress  only  (for  no  part  of  the  person 
lower  than  the  head  could  be  reflected),  and  a 
grandfather  chair  drawn  near  the  ample  fireplace. 
Both  table  and  chair  were  covered  in  white  linen  or 


Birthplace  of  George  Washington  77 

Virginia  cotton  cloth,  —  the  toilet  cover  embroidered 
by  the  ladies  of  the  family.  Similar  embroidery  or 
a  bit  of  brocade  adorned  the  pin-cushion,  which  was 
an  important  article,  conserving  as  it  did  the  scarce, 
imported  English  pins  —  clumsy,  blunt  affairs,  with  a 
bit  of  twisted  wire  for  the  head  which  was  always 
coming  off. 

Furniture  was  hard,  stiff,  and  unyielding,  not 
one  whit  more  luxurious  in  shape  and  cushioning 
than  the  furniture  of  the  Greeks,  and  without  the 
charm  of  grace  or  beauty. 

Moreover,  it  was,  unhappily,  built  to  last  forever. 
Backs  might  break  on  the  hard  chairs,  but  the 
chairs  never !  Beds,  however,  were  piled  high  with 
feathers,  bolster,  and  pillows,  and  bed-curtains 
were  de  rigueur.  Dickens  complained,  among  the 
horrors  of  his  early  days  in  America,  that  he 
actually  had  no  bed-curtains.  Poor  indeed  must 
be  the  house  that  could  not  afford  "  fallens,"  i.e. 
valence,  around  the  "tester"  and  the  bottom  of  the 
bedstead.  This  ancient  appanage  of  a  man  of 
quality,  as  early  as  in  Chaucer's  time,  was  sometimes 
richly  embroidered  with  pearls. 

"  Now  is  Albano's  marriage-bed  new  hung 
With  fresh  rich  curtaines  !      Now  are  my  Valence  up 
Imbost  with  orient  pearles." 

Losing  her  bed  and  valence,  Mary  Washington 
would  have  lost  everything  !  Her  dining-table  and 


78     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

chairs  were  of  the  plainest.  There  were  no  side 
boards  in  her  day  anywhere  —  no  mahogany  until 
1747.  As  to  her  best  room,  her  parlor,  she  prob 
ably  was  content  with  a  harpsichord,  a-  table,  and 
chairs.  Great  fires  glorified  every  room  in  winter, 
and  in  summer  the  gaping,  black  fireplace  was  filled 
with  cedar  boughs  and  plumy  asparagus. 

The  colonial  Virginian  lived  much  out  of  doors. 
Driven  in  by  a  storm  he  would  find  shelter  in  his 
"  porch  "  and  remain  there  until  the  storm  was  over. 
His  house  was  a  good  enough  place  to  eat  and  sleep 
in,  but  beauty  in  house-furnishing  never  inspired 
ambition.  That  was  fully  gratified  if  he  could  wel 
come  a  guest  to  a  good  dinner,  and  interest  him 
afterwards  in  a  fine  horse  or  two  and  a  pack  of  fox 
hounds. 

That  Augustine  Washington's  house  should  burn 
down  was  perfectly  consistent  and  natural.  Every 
thing  in  colonial  Virginia  was  burned  sooner  or 

o  o 

later, —  dwelling-houses,  court-houses  with  their 
records,  tobacco-houses  with  their  treasures  of  Ori- 
noko  or  Sweet-scented.  Nearer  than  the  spring  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill  was  no  water,  and,  except  the 
pail  borne  on  the  head  of  the  negro,  no  extinguish 
ing  appliance  whatever.  Churches  did  not  burn 
down  for' the  very  good  reason  that  they  were  never 
lighted  or  heated ;  thus  insuring  that  mortification 
of  the  body  so  good  for  the  health  of  the  soul.  In 
winter  little  stoves  of  perforated  tin,  containing  coals 


Birthplace  of  George  Washington  79 

or  heated  bricks,  were  borne  up  the  aisles  by  foot 
men  and  placed  beneath  the  feet  of  the  colonial 
dames.  Otherwise  the  slippered  feet  would  surely 
have  frozen  ! 

It  has  been  a  favorite  fashion  with  historians  to 
picture  the  Wakefield  house  as  an  humble  four- 
roomed  dwelling.  Americans  love  to  think  that 
their  great  men  were  cradled  in  poverty,  but  exca 
vations  have  been  recently  made  which  develop 
the  foundations  of  a  large  residence.  One  is  inclined 
to  wonder  when  and  by  whom  the  pictures  were 
made  of  the  birthplace  of  Washington,  which  was 
destroyed  by  fire  before  there  was  a  newspaper  to 
print  a  description  or  picture  in  Virginia.  That  the 
sketch  of  any  visitor  or  member  of  the  family  should 
have  been  preserved  nearly  two  hundred  years  is 
impossible.  Why  should  it  have  been  made  at  all  ? 
Nobody  living  in  the  unpretending  house  had  then 
interested  the  world.  Every  such  picture  is  from 
the  imagination,  pure  and  simple,  of  Mr.  Prud- 
homme,  who  made  the  first  for  a  New  York  pub 
lishing  house.  He  was  probably  as  accurate  as  he 
could  be,  but  the  house  faced  the  road,  not  the 
river,  and  the  latter  flowed  at  the  bottom  of  a  hill 
in  the  rear  of  the  mansion. 

In  the  town  of  Quincy,  in  Massachusetts,  the  old 
home  of  John  and  Abigail  Adams  still  stands,  built 
in  1716,  according  to  "a  truthful  brick  found  in  the 
quaint  old  chimney."  Pious  hands  have  preserved 


8o     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

this  house,  restored  it,  filled  it  with  just  such  furni 
ture  and  draperies  and  garments  as  were  preserved 
by  those  who  lived  in  the  year  1750.  There  the 
house  stands  —  an  object  lesson  to  all  who  care  for 
truth  about  the  old  colonial  farm-houses.  Beauty, 
genius,  and  patriotism  dwelt  in  this  house.  From 
it  the  master  went  forth  to  the  courts  of  France  and 
England  and  to  become  the  President  of  the 
United  States ;  and  on  the  little  table  in  the  front 
room  Abigail,  the  accomplished  lady  of  beauty  and 
talent,  wrote,  "  This  little  Cottage  has  more  com 
fort  and  satisfaction  for  you  than  the  courts  of 
Royalty." 

The  colonial  houses  of  Virginia  were  larger,  but 
yet  were  modest  dwellings.  They  became  more 
ambitious  in  1730,  but  Augustine  Washington's 
home  had  made  a  history  of  happiness  and  sorrow, 
birth  and  death,  before  our  Mary  entered  it. 

The  universal  plan  of  the  Virginia  house  of  1740 
included  four  rooms,  divided  by  a  central  "  passage  " 
(never  called  a  "  hall ")  running  from  front  to  rear 
and  used  as  the  summer  sitting  room  of  the  family. 
From  this  a  short  staircase  ascended  to  dormer- 
windowed  rooms  above.  As  the  family  increased  in 
numbers  one-story  rooms  and  "  sheds  "  were  tacked 
on  wherever  they  were  needed,  without  regard  to 
architectural  effect,  growing  around  a  good  chimney 
and  even  enclosing  a  tree  valued  for  its  shade.  The 
old  house  rambled  about,  as  the  land  lay,  so  rooms 


Birthplace  of  George  Washington  81 

were  often  ascended  by  one  or  more  steps.  I  fancy 
this  was  the  case  with  the  Wakefield  house —  Mary 
Washington,  her  fast-coming  babies,  and  her  very 
large  family  connection  demanding  more  room  than 
did  Jane  with  her  two  little  boys. 

The  iron  bar  across  the  front  folding-door  of  a 
colonial  Virginian  house  was  never  put  up  in  sum 
mer  except  in  a  thunder-storm.  The  door  stood 
open,  and  proud  and  happy  were  master,  mistress, 
children,  and  servants  when  it  was  thronged  with 
friendly  neighbors  or  wandering  tourists  from 
abroad.  They  were  welcome  to  come,  and  to  stay  ! 
One  instance  of  a  visit  lasted  three  years  ;  another 
thirteen  years  !  Not  once  was  the  contented  guest 
ever  reminded  that  he  had  worn  out  his  welcome  ! 
One  marvels  that  time  was  found  for  all  this  hospi 
tality.  It  was  simply  the  prime  occupation  and  duty 
of  life ;  and  then  fashions  in  garments  were  not 
always  changing,  and  the  housewife  had  no  bric-a- 
brac  to  dust  and  keep  in  order. 

The  Wakefield  house,  be  it  large  or  small,  well 
or  poorly  appointed,  had  the  honor  of  being  the 
birthplace  of  our  adored  Washington,  and  there, 
or  at  the  nearest  church,  he  was  baptized.  Mildred 
Gregory,  Augustine  Washington's  sister,  held  him 
in  her  arms  and  renounced  for  him  "  the  devil  and 
all  his  works,  the  vain  pomp  and  glory  of  the 
world "  and  all  the  "  sinful  desires  of  the  flesh," 
promising  that  he  would  "obediently  keep  God's 


82     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

holy  will  and  commandments  and  walk  in  the  same 
all  the  days  of  his  life." 


George  Washington's  Apron. 

His  baptismal  robe  is  still  in  existence  —  or  was, 
on  the  22d  of  February,  1 850,  when  Virginia's  monu 
ment  in  his  honor  was  unveiled  in  Richmond. 


Birthplace  of  George  Washington  83 

The  Masonic  orator  of  the  day,  Mr.  R.  G.  Scott, 
exhibited,  with  Washington's  sash,  apron,  and  gloves, 
the  small  silk  mantle  in  which  he  was  baptized,  — 
a  sacred  relic  still  preserved,  no  doubt,  by  the 
Masonic  Lodge  of  Richmond  or  Fredericksburg. 

Mildred  Gregory  was  then  a  widow.  Her  three 
beautiful  daughters  (destined  to  take  and  keep  the 
hearts  of  a  family  of  Thorntons)  were  present  at  the 
christening  and  full  of  interest  in  their  Aunt  Mary 
and  her  first  boy.  Uncle  Augustine  did  not  sig 
nify  !  He  had  two  boys  already.  Were  they  not 
ordinary,  commonplace  fellows  —  their  own  every 
day  playmates  ? 

The  proud  young  mother  hastened  to  present 
her  fine  boy  to  her  own  kindred,  and  when  he  was 
a  month  old  she  took  him  to  visit  her  cousin, 
Major  James  Ball  at  "  Bewdley,"  in  Lancaster 
County.  The  house  still  stands  that  sheltered 
George  Washington  in  infancy. 

If  any  one  wishes  to  know  the  probable  appear 
ance  and  extent  of  the  house  in  which  he  was  born, 
the  two-hundred-year-old  house  at  Bewdley  will 
perhaps  furnish  the  most  accurate  example.  The 
steep,  double-storied  roof,  the  heavy,  outside  chim 
neys,  the  old  kitchen  in  the  yard,  are  all  character 
istics. 

Probably  the  Wakefield  house  was  never  rebuilt. 
Fifty  years  ago  a  solitary  chimney,  and  a  small,  en 
graved  stone  marked  the  birthplace  of  George 


84     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Washington ;  the  stone,  the  first  monument  ever 
dedicated  to  his  memory,  having  been  placed  there 
by  the  pious  hands  of  George  Washington  Parke 
Custis.  A  better  stone,  protected  by  an  iron  rail 
ing,  now  marks  the  spot. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

THE    CHERRY    TREE    AND    LITTLE    HATCHET 

WHETHER  the  immortal  cherry  tree  grew 
at  this  home  on  the  Potomac,  or  on  the 
farm  on  the  Rappahannock  to  which  the 
family  moved,  we  are  not  instructed  by  the  imagin 
ings  of  "  Parson  Weems,"  Washington  Irving,  and 
others ;    but    the    hatchet,   if  the   cherry  tree   grew 
in  Westmoreland,  must   have  been  a   very  "  little 
hatchet,"    indeed,    for    Augustine    Washington    re 
moved    to    a    seat    opposite    Fredericksburg    when 
George  was  a  small  boy. 

And  just  here  the  writer  begs  leave  to  enter  a 
plea  for  the  life  of  this  cherry  tree !  Irreverent 
biographers  sneer  at  it  as  "a  myth."  We  have  sacri 
ficed  much  to  truth.  We  have  wiped  from  our 
canvas  all  the  "gay  gallants"  of  Williamsburg,  the 
love-lorn  wandering  curate,  "  Sister  Susie,"  the  life 
in  England,  the  charming  portrait !  Really,  we 
cannot  give  up  our  cherry  tree !  It  is  deeply 
rooted.  It  has  flourished  more  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years.  Its  lessons  and  its  fruits  are  the 
crowning  glory  of  the  board  on  the  twenty-second 
day  of  February.  We  positively  decline  to  bury  the 
little  hatchet  or  uproot  the  cherry  tree  ! 

85 


86     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"  Parson  Weems,"  who  first  told  the  story  of 
the  little  hatchet,  was  an  Episcopal  clergyman  well 
known  to  General  Washington.  His  cc  Life  of  Wash 
ington  "  appeared  several  years  before  the  great  man's 
death.  "  It  was  read  by  him  and  mildly  com- 


Pohick  Church,  Mount  Vernon,  Virginia. 

mended,"  says  one  writer.  Certainly  it  was  never 
contradicted.  Parson  Weems  was  an  eccentric 
character,  but  so  kind  and  charitable  that  his 
"  oriental  imagination  "  was  indulgently  condoned 
by  his  neighbors.  He  claimed  to  have  been  rector 
of  Pohick  church  which  was  attended  by  General 
Washington.  Not  even  this  was  contradicted  at 


The  Cherry  Tree  and  Little  Hatchet          87 

the  time,  and  is  given  the  benefit  of  a  doubt  by 
the  accurate  old  Bishop  Meade  himself.  He  loved 
to  make  people  happy.  He  would  preach  to  the 
poor  negroes  and  then  fiddle  for  them  to  dance. 
He  probably  believed  with  George  Herbert  that :  — 

"A  verse  may  find  him  who  a  sermon  flies 
And  turn  delight  into  a  sacrifice." 

He  was  a  charming  historian.  If  there  were  no 
interesting  facts  to  mitigate  the  dryness  of  a  narra 
tive,  why  then,  of  course,  something  must  be  in 
vented  !  So  "his  books  have  been  read,"  says 
Bishop  Meade,  "  by  more  persons  than  those  of 
Marshall,  Ramsey,  Bancroft  and  Irving  put  to 
gether."  Evidently  the  good  bishop  at  heart  liked 
him.  He  thought  him  probably  "  too  good  for 
banning,  too  bad  for  blessing,"  but  he  admired, 
nevertheless,  "  the  pathos  and  elegance  of  his  writ 
ings."  Now,  if  General  Washington  did  not 
stamp  the  cherry-tree  story  as  a  falsehood,  and 
if  Bishop  Meade  does  not  contradict  it,  we  may 
leave  it,  as  they  did,  to  flower  and  fruit  for  the 
teaching  of  American  children. 

The  title  of  the  clergyman's  book  was,  "  The 
Life  of  George  Washington  ;  With  Curious  Anec 
dotes,  Equally  Honourable  to  Himself  and  Exem 
plary  to  His  Young  Countrymen.  By  M.  L. 
Weems,  Formerly  Rector  of  Mount  Vernon 
Parish."  It  may  be  interesting  to  relate  the  origi- 


88      The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

nal  cherry-tree  story  as  it  appeared  in  this  quaint 
little  book.  The  author  says  it  was  communicated 
to  him  by  "  an  aged  lady  who  was  a  distant  relative, 
and  who,  when  a  girl,  spent  much  of  her  time  in 
the  family."  How  convenient  the  aged  lady,  the 
distant  relative,  has  always  been  in  tradition  ! 

"  When  George  was  about  six  years  old  he  was 
made  the  wealthy  master  of  a  hatchet ;  of  which, 
like  most  little  boys,  he  was  immoderately  fond,  and 
was  constantly  going  about  chopping  everything  that 
came  in  his  way.  One  day  in  the  garden,  where  he 
often  amused  himself  hacking  his  mother's  pea 
sticks,  he  unluckily  tried  the  edge  of  his  hatchet  on 
the  body  of  a  beautiful  young  English  cherry  tree, 
which  he  barked  so  terribly  that  I  don't  believe  the 
tree  ever  got  the  better  of  it.  The  next  morning 
the  old  gentleman,  finding  out  what  had  befallen 
this  tree,  which,  by  the  way,  was  a  great  favorite, 
came  into  the  house,  and  with  much  warmth  asked 
for  the  mischievous  author,  declaring  at  the  same 
time  that  he  would  not  have  taken  five  guineas  for 
the  tree.  Nobody  could  tell  him  anything  about 
it.  Presently  George  and  his  hatchet  made  their 
appearance.  c  George,'  said  his  father,  c  do  you 
know  who  killed  that  beautiful  little  cherry  tree 
yonder  in  the  garden  ? '  This  was  a  tough  ques 
tion  and  George  staggered  under  it  for  a  moment, 
but  quickly  recovered  himself,  and  looking  at  his 
father  with  the  sweet  face  of  youth,  brightened  with 


The  Cherry  Tree  and  Little  Hatchet          89 

the  inexpressible  charm  of  all-conquering  truth,  he 
bravely  cried  out,  c  I  can't  tell  a  lie,  Pa,  you  know 
I  can't  tell  a  lie.  I  did  cut  it  with  my  little  hatchet.' 
c  Run  to  my  arms,  you  dearest  boy/  cried  his  father 
in  transports  ;  (  run  to  my  arms  ;  glad  am  I,  George, 
that  you  killed  my  tree,  for  you  have  paid  me  for  it 
a  thousand  fold.  Such  an  act  of  heroism  in  my  son 
is  worth  more  than  a  thousand  trees,  though  blos 
somed  with  silver  and  their  fruits  of  purest  gold.' 

"  It  was  in  this  way,"  adds  Parson  Weems, 
tagging  on  his  moral,  "  by  interesting  at  once  both 
his  head  and  heart,  that  Mr.  Washington  con 
ducted  George  with  great  ease  and  pleasure  along 
the  happy  paths  of  pleasure." 


CHAPTER    XV 

THE    YOUNG    WIDOW    AND    HER    FAMILY 

AUGUSTINE  Washington  selected  a  fine  site 
on  the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock  oppo 
site  Fredericksburg,  and  near  "  Sting  Ray 
Island/'  where  the  very  fishes  of  the  stream  had 
resented  the  coming  of  Captain  John  Smith.  The 
name  of  this  home  was  Pine  Grove.  "  The  situation 
was  commanding1  and  the  garden  and  orchard  in  bet 
ter  cultivation  than  those  they  had  left.  The  house 
was  like  that  at  Wakefield,  broad  and  low  with  the 
same  number  of  rooms  upon  the  ground  floor,  one  of 
them  in  the  shed-like  extension  at  the  back;  and  the 
spacious  attic  was  over  the  main  building.  It  had  its 
name  from  a  noble  body  of  trees  near  it,  but  was 
also  known  by  the  old  neighbors  as  c  Ferry  Farm.' 
There  was  no  bridge  over  the  Rappahannock  and 
communication  was  had  with  the  town  by  the 
neighboring  ferry."  "  Those  who  wish  to  associate 
Washington,"  says  another  writer,  "with  the  gran 
deurs  of  stately  living  in  his  youth,  would  find  all 
their  theories  dispelled  by  a  glimpse  of  the  modest 
dwelling  where  he  spent  his  boyhood  years.  But 

1  "Story  of  Mary  Washington,"  Marion  Harland. 
90 


The  Young  Widow  and  her  Family          91 

nature  was  bountiful  in  its  beauties  in  the  lovely 
landscape  that  stretched  before  it.  In  Overwharton 
parish,  where  it  was  situated,  the  family  had  many 
excellent  neighbors,  and  there  came  forth  from  this 
little  home  a  race  of  men  whose  fame  could  gather 
no  splendor  had  the  roofs  which  sheltered  their 
childhood  been  fretted  with  gold  and  blazoned  with 
diamonds.  The  heroic  principle  in  our  people  does 
not  depend  for  perpetuity  on  family  trees  and  ances 
tral  dignities,  still  less  on  baronial  mansions." 

Augustine  Washington  died  in  1743,  at  the  age 
of  forty-nine,  at  Pine  Grove,  leaving  two  sons  of 
his  first  wife,  and  four  sons  and  one  daughter  our 
Mary  had  borne  to  him,  little  Mildred  having  died 
in  infancy.  We  know  then  the  history  of  those 
thirteen  years,  the  birth  of  six  children,  the  death 
of  one,  finally  the  widowhood  and  desolation  of  the 
mother. 

At  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  George  Wash 
ington  was  only  ten  years  of  age.  He  had  been 
heard  to  say  that  he  knew  little  of  his  father  except 
the  remembrance  of  his  person  and  of  his  parental 
fondness.  To  his  mother's  forming  care  he  himself 
ascribed  the  origin  of  his  fortune  and  his  fame. 

Mary  Washington  was  not  yet  thirty-six,  the  age 
at  which  American  women  are  supposed  to  attain 
their  highest  physical  perfection.  Her  husband  had 
left  a  large  estate  under  her  management  to  be  sur 
rendered  in  portions  as  each  child  reached  majority. 


92     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Their  lands  lay  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  — 
Fairfax,  Stafford,  King  George,  and  Westmoreland. 
She  found  herself  a  member  of  a  large  and  influential 
society,  which  had  grown  rapidly  in  wealth,  impor 
tance,  and  elegance  of  living  since  her  girlhood  and 
early  married  life  in  Westmoreland.  Her  stepson, 
Lawrence,  married  a  few  months  after  his  father's 
death,  and  she  was  thus  allied  to  the  Fairfaxes  of 
Belvoir  —  allied  the  more  closely  because  of  the 
devotion  of  Lawrence  to  her  own  son  George. 
Lawrence,  with  his  pretty  Anne  Fairfax,  had  gone 
to  live  on  his  inherited  estate  of  "  Hunting  Creek," 
which  he  made  haste  to  rechristen  in  honor  of  an 
English  admiral,  famous  for  having  recently  reduced 
the  town  and  fortifications  at  Porto  Bello ;  famous 
also  for  having  reduced  the  English  sailors'  rum 
by  mixing  it  with  water.  He  was  wont  to  pace  his 
decks  wrapped  in  a  grogram  cloak.  The  irate  sailors 
called  him,  and  the  liquor  he  had  spoiled,  "  Old 
Grog."  The  irreverent,  fun-loving  Virginians  at 
once  caught  up  the  word,  and  henceforth  all  un 
sweetened  drinks  of  brandy  or  rum  and  water  were 
"grog,"  and  all  unstable  partakers  thereof  "  groggy." 
Mary  Washington,  young,  handsome,  and  the 
mistress  of  a  fine  estate,  was  closely  connected  by 
ties  of  kindred  with  nearly  all  of  the  families  we 
shall  describe  hereafter.  She  could  have  elected 
for  herself  a  gay  life  of  social  pleasure,  and  could 
have  been  a  prominent  figure  in  that  life.  The 


The  Young  Widow  and  her  Family  93 

pictures  we  have  of  her  were  nearly  all  drawn  by 
George  Washington  Parke  Custis,  whose  authorities 
were  the  old  neighbors  who  knew  and  remembered 
her  well  at  a  later  day,  and  in  their  turn  had 
gathered  impressions  from  the  companions  of  her 
early  womanhood. 

"  She  is  the  most  excellent  woman,"  says  Goethe, 
"  who  when  the  husband  dies,  becomes  as  a  father 
to  the  children." 

This  was  the  part  which  Mary  Washington,  in 
her  thirty-sixth  year,  elected  to  perform  for  her  five 
fatherless  children,  —  George,  Elizabeth,  Samuel, 
John  Augustine,  and  Charles.  Pleasing  stories  are 
told  of  how  the  young  widow  would  gather  her  brood 
around  her,  reading  them  lessons  from  some  good 
book,  and  then  repairing  to  her  domestic  tasks. 
She  exacted  the  strictest  obedience  from  her  chil 
dren.  She  directed  alike  their  amusements  and 
their  education,  manifesting  in  her  administration 
of  family  affairs  great  good  sense,  resolution,  and 
business  capacity. 

Mr.  Custis  often  visited  her  in  his  childhood,  and 
although  too  young  to  appreciate  her,  has  gathered 
material  for  a  noble  tribute  to  the  youthful  matron, 
which  is  best  given  in  his  own  words  :  — 

"  Bred  in  those  domestic  and  independent  habits  which 
graced  the  Virginia  matrons  in  the  old  days  of  Virginia," 
says  Mr.  Custis,  "  this  lady,  by  the  death  of  her  husband, 
became  involved  in  the  cares  of  a  young  family,  at  a  period 


94     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

when  those  cares  seem  more  especially  to  claim  the  aid  and 
control  of  the  stronger  sex.  It  was  left  for  this  eminent 
woman,  by  a  method  the  most  rare,  by  an  education  and 
discipline  the  most  peculiar  and  imposing,  to  form  in  the 
youth-time  of  her  son  those  great  and  essential  qualities 
which  gave  lustre  to  the  glories  of  his  after-life.  If  the 
school  savored  the  more  of  the  Spartan  than  the  Persian 
character,  it  was  a  fitter  school  to  form  a  hero,  destined  to 
be  the  ornament  of  the  age  in  which  he  flourished,  and  a 
standard  of  excellence  for  ages  yet  to  come. 

"  The  home  of  Mrs.  Washington,  of  which  she  was 
always  mistress,  was  a  pattern  of  order.  There  the  levity 
and  indulgence  common  to  youth  were  tempered  by  a  defer 
ence  and  well-regulated  restraint,  which,  while  it  neither 
suppressed  nor  condemned  any  rational  enjoyment  used  in 
the  springtime  of  life,  prescribed  those  enjoyments  within 
the  bounds  of  moderation  and  propriety.  Thus  the  chief 
was  taught  the  duty  of  obedience,  which  prepared  him  to 
command.  Still  the  mother  held  in  reserve  an  authority 
which  never  departed  from  her,  even  when  her  son  had 
become  the  most  illustrious  of  men.  It  seemed  to  say,  '  I 
am  your  mother,  the  being  who  gave  you  life,  the  guide 
who  directed  your  steps  when  they  needed  a  guardian  :  my 
maternal  affection  drew  forth  your  love  ;  my  authority  con 
strained  your  spirit ;  whatever  may  be  your  success  or  your 
renown,  next  to  your  God,  your  reverence  is  due  to  me.' 
Nor  did  the  chief  dissent  from  the  truths  ;  but  to  the  last 
moments  of  his  venerable  parent,  yielded  to  her  will  the 
most  dutiful  and  implicit  obedience,  and  felt  for  her  person 
and  character  the  highest  respect,  and  the  most  enthusiastic 
attachment. 

"Such  were  the  domestic  influences  under  which  the 
mind  of  Washington  was  formed ;  and  that  he  not  only 


The  Young  Widow  and  her  Family  95 

profited  by,  but  fully  appreciated,  their  excellence  and  the 
character  of  his  mother,  his  behavior  toward  her  at  all  times 
testified." 

It  was  of  the  first  importance  that  she  should  take 
care  of  the  inheritance  of  her  children.  She  must 
keep  the  land  together  and  glean  from  it  main 
tenance  and  education  for  her  four  boys  and  her 
daughter. 

Virginians  were  taught  to  hold  their  land  at  any 
sacrifice.  "  Never  part  from  your  land,  boys  !  "  said 
Frances  Bland  Randolph  to  John  Randolph  and  his 
brother.  "  Keep  your  land  and  your  land  will  keep 
you  !  "  And  yet  this  plan  did  not  insure  competence. 
Land  would  keep  the  family,  it  is  true,  but  afford 
small  margin  for  education.  Mary  Washington 
realized  this  and  wisely  prepared  her  sons  to  earn 
their  own  living. 

She  sent  George  to  an  old-field  school  of  Master 
Hobby,  the  sexton  of  the  parish  church,  and  then 
under  his  brother  Lawrence's  guidance  to  Master 
Williams.  During  one  winter  he  rode  on  horseback 
ten  miles  to  school  every  morning,  returning  home 
at  night  to  prepare  his  tasks  for  the  next  day.  At 
another  time  he  ferried  himself  across  the  Rappa- 
hannock  to  his  "day-school,"  —  the  old  academy 
at  Fredericksburg,  afterwards  attended  by  Madison 
and  Monroe.  He  was  never  sent,  like  other  gen 
tlemen's  sons,  to  a  college  or  university  at  home  or 
abroad.  Conscious  of  this,  he  was  probably  the 


96     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

more  diligent  to  overcome  by  his  own  industry  all 
deficiencies  of  opportunity. 

He  proved  an  apt  scholar,  and  soon  possessed 
the  rudiments  of  a  practical  education,  which  was 
expanded  in  later  life  by  reading  into  scholarly 
accomplishments.  But  it  was  she,  the  mother,  who 
first  cast  his  mind  and  heart  in  the  right  mould. 

This  schooling,  supplemented  by  his  own  study 
and  experience,  was  his  only  foundation  for  that 
"  thorough  knowledge  of  the  technical  part  of  his 
profession,  that  skill  in  military  combinations,  and 
extraordinary  gifts  of  military  administration,"  which 
has  won  the  unstinted  praise  of  England's  brilliant 
historian.  But  it  was  from  the  training  of  early 
habits  by  his  watchful  mother  that  he  became,  as 
Lecky  adds,  "  punctual,  methodical,  and  exact  in  the 
highest  degree,  managing  the  minute  details  so 
essential  to  the  efficiency  of  an  army."  From  his 
mother  he  inherited  qualities  which  she  herself 
possessed  in  an  eminent  degree,  —  "  a  rare  form  of 
courage  which  can  endure  long-continued  suspense, 
bear  the  weight  of  great  responsibility,  and  encounter, 
without  shrinking,  risks  of  misrepresentation  and 
unpopularity/' 

She  early  proved  herself  to  be  a  strong,  self- 
reliant  woman,  with  executive  ability  and  a  supreme 
power  of  awing  and  governing  others.  Her  life  was 
given  to  her  children  and  to  the  care  of  a  thriving 
plantation  ;  to  sowing,  and  planting,  and  reaping  ; 


The  Young  Widow  and  her  Family  97 

to  the  rearing  of  fine,  blooded  cattle.  Her  children 
had  a  plain,  abundant,  comfortable  home,  and  led 
healthy  out-of-door  lives.  She  made  Truth  and 
Honor  her  handmaidens,  and  in  their  defence  ruled 
her  house  with  austerity,  that  "  austerity  in  woman 
so  often  the  accompaniment  of  a  rare  power  of  lov 
ing,  causing  love  to  be  piety,  tenderness,  religion, 
devotion  strong  as  death." 

Surrounding  her  children  with  all  the  comforts  of 
a  well-governed  household,  she  loved  them,  taught 
them,  persuaded  them.  If  all  failed,  if  Sir  Matthew 
Hale  was  in  vain,  and  headlong  youth  yielded  not 
when  the  right  was  at  issue,  she  did  not  disdain  to 
command  another  influence,  pliant,  pungent,  prompt, 
and  most  convincing,  —  a  bundle  of  keen  rods 
gathered  daily  from  the  friendly  peach  tree  !  This 
lay  always  upon  her  historic  table,  or  found  place  in 
her  capacious  pockets  when  she  went  abroad.  It  was 
the  presence  of  this  ally,  offensive  and  defensive, 
which  made  harder  the  telling  of  the  truth  and  en 
hanced  the  sublimity  of  virtue. 

Tradition  insists  that  she  possessed  a  high  spirit, 
passionate,  lofty,  intense,  and  yet  under  the  most 
magnificent  control ;  that  her  feelings  were  so  deep 
and  strong  she  durst  not  show  them,  durst  not  even 
recognize  them,  lest  they  should  master  her.  "  A 
lady,"  says  Andrew  Lang,  "  is  a  woman  of  high 
breeding,  high  passion  and  high  courage."  Mary 
Washington  was  a  lady  !  She  was  tender,  gracious, 


98     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

and  courteous  to  her  neighbors  in  humble  station, 
but  to  them  as  to  others  she  made  hard  the  way  of 
the  transgressor.  Yet  she  knew  how  to  excuse  and 
forgive. 

Tradition  relates  that  when  George  was  a  fine, 
big  boy  of  twelve,  he  was  fired  with  ambition  to 
conquer  the  spirit  of  an  exceedingly  valuable  colt 
which  had  never  permitted  the  near  approach  of 
man  or  boy.  One  morning  early  this  feat  was 
achieved.  George  with  his  brothers  having  chased 
the  rebel  into  a  corner  of  the  pasture,  he  vaulted 
upon  the  back  of  the  dangerous  animal,  which 
plunged  forward  so  madly  that  a  blood-vessel  was 
ruptured,  dying,  like  the  Indian,  with  a  broken 
heart  sooner  than  submit. 

There  were  five  anxious  faces  around  the  break 
fast  table  that  morning !  Presently  the  mother 
forced  matters  to  an  issue  by  asking :  "  Boys,  have 
you  seen  my  fine  sorrel  colt  lately  ?  Is  he  as  big  as 
his  sire  ?  " 

Four  pairs  of  eyes  were  turned  to  George,  who 
unhesitatingly  answered :  "  Madam,  that  horse  pos 
sessed  an  ungovernable  spirit  which  had  to  be  con 
quered.  I  mounted  him  this  morning,  and  he 
plunged  violently  and  killed  himself."  The  mother's 
face  flushed  for  a  moment,  and  then  she  said  quietly  : 
"  That  seems  to  be  a  pity  !  But  I  am  proud  and 
grateful  for  my  brave,  truthful  son  !  " 

This  son  was  always  a  prince  among  boys,  as  he 


The  Young  Widow  and  her  Family  99 

was  afterwards  a  king  among  men.  Strong,  brave, 
athletic,  with  a  grand  air,  he  became  the  prime 
favorite  of  his  aristocratic  brother  Lawrence,  whom 
he  often  visited  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  who  desired 
to  place  him  in  the  service  of  the  crown.  In  1747, 
when  George  was  in  his  fourteenth  year,  a  midship 
man's  warrant  was  obtained  for  him  by  his  brother 
Lawrence,  and  he  embraced  with  boyish  ardor  the 
idea  of  going  to  sea. 

While  the  matter  was  in  doubt,  however,  his 
English  uncle,  Joseph  Ball,  wrote  to  his  sister:  "  I 
understand  that  you  have  been  advised  to  put  your 
son  George  to  sea.  I  think  he  had  better  be  appren 
tice  to  a  tinker  ;  for  a  common  sailor  before  the  mast 
has  by  no  means  the  liberty  of  a  subject;  for  they 
will  cut  and  slash  him  and  use  him  like  a  negro,  or 
rather  like  a  dog.  He  must  not  be  too  hasty  to  be 
rich,  but  go  on  gently  with  patience  as  things  will 
naturally  go,  without  aiming  to  be  a  fine  gentleman 
before  his  time,"  etc.  The  ship  that  was  to  carry 
him  into  the  service  of  his  most  Gracious  Majesty, 
George  the  Second,  was  riding  at  anchor  in  the 
Potomac  with  the  young  midshipman's  luggage  on 
board,  but  when  the  hour  came  for  him  to  sail  his 
mother  braved  the  chance  of  Lawrence's  displeasure, 
and  forbade  him  to  go  ! 

The  great  trials  of  her  life  were  henceforth  to  come 
through  her  crowning  glory  and  pride.  Her  splen 
did  boy,  only  fifteen  years  old,  entered,  as  surveyor 


ioo    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

to  Lord  Fairfax,  a  life  of  hardship  and  peril,  exposed 
to  hourly  danger  from  the  Indians,  and  to  the  rigors 
of  inclement  winters.  The  eaglet  had  flown  from 
the  nest,  never  to  return.  Henceforth  her  strain 
ing  eyes  might  strive  to  follow — they  could  never 
recall  him. 


Mrs.  Washington  persuades  George  not  to  go  to  Sea. 

The  lands  to  be  surveyed  lay  in  the  wilderness 
beyond  the  Blue  Ridge.  There  the  boy  of  sixteen 
matched  himself  against  fatigue,  danger,  and  priva 
tions  of  every  kind,  and  found  himself  equal  to  them 
all.  He  became  familiar  with  the  frontier  people  — 
the  Indians  and  settlers.  There  he  unconsciously 
trained  himself  for  his  future  career. 


The  Young  Widow  and  her  Family         101 

Just  at  this  time,  when  Fate  sent  him  into  the 
wilderness  as  preparation  for  the  stern  life  ordained 
for  him,  the  gentle  god  of  Love  was  experimenting 
with  his  virgin  heart.  Among  the  yellow  papers, 
which  were  tied  in  bundles  and  preserved  in  the  deep 
drawers  of  the  old  secretary  at  "  Pine  Grove,"  be 
hold  the  following  acrostic,  dated  1747,  when  the  lad 
was  fifteen  :  — 

"  From  your  bright  sparkling  eyes  I  was  undone. 
Rays  you  have  —  more  transparent  than  ye  Sun 
Amidst  its  Glory  in  ye  Rising  Day. 
None  can  you  equal  in  yr  bright  array. 
Constant  in  yr  Calm,  Unspotted  Mind  — 
Equal  toe  all,  will  toe  none  Prove  kind. 
Soe  knowing,  seldom  One  soe  young  you'll  find." 

Who  was  Frances  ?  Was  she  responsible  for  the 
"  hurt  of  the  heart  uncurable,"  of  which  he  wrote  a 
few  months  later?  Alas,  we  shall  never  know!  Her 
Rays  were  all  dimmed  before  Parson  Weems  appeared 
to  take  notes  and  print  them. 

At  least  we  have  this  fragment  of  boyhood  love, 
and  can  enrol  her  name  as  the  first  of  his  five  sweet 
hearts. 

There  is  also  a  relic  of  his  work  for  Lord  Fair 
fax.  Underneath  the  veranda  at  Capon  Springs  in 
West  Virginia  lies  the  trunk  of  one  of  the  trees  that 
the  young  surveyor  marked  with  his  hatchet.  At 
least,  it  was  there  ten  years  ago  ! 


CHAPTER   XVI 

BETTY    WASHINGTON,    AND    WEDDINGS    IN    OLD 
VIRGINIA 

IN  1746  young  Fielding  Lewis  came  up  from 
:  his  family  seat  at  Marmion,  bringing  General 
"'Washington's  aunt,  Catharine  Washington,  as 
hisrwife^nd  made  his  home  at  Kenmore  in  Fredericks- 
burg.  They  were  married  just  one  year  before  the 
birth  of  little  John  Lewis,  and  Mrs.  Henry  Lee  (the 
mother  of  "  Light-horse  Harry  ")  and  Mrs.  Mary 
Washington  were  godmothers.  (Five  times  was  this 
little  fellow  destined  to  be  married,  and  if  a  prob 
lem  of  involved  relationship  be  in  order,  he  could 
furnish  it.  His  first  two  wives  were  the  grand 
daughters  of  his  great-aunt,  Mildred  Gregory,  and 
his  last  wife  great-granddaughter  of  her  last  hus 
band!)  But  to  return  to  Fielding  Lewis  and 
Catharine  (Washington)  Lewis:  the  next  year  (1748) 
Frances  was  born,  George  Washington  (aged  sixteen), 
godfather  —  the  next  year  (1749)  the  third  child  was 
born,  and  then  the  poor  young  mother,  having  borne 
a  child  every  year,  was  gathered  to  her  fathers  and 
her  children  (January,  1750).  All  these  events  were 
of  keen  interest  to  the  family  at  "  Pine  Grove."  In 


102 


Betty  Washington  —  Weddings  in  Virginia      103 

all  these  functions  nobody  was  more  sympathetic 
than  Betty  Washington,  now  a  handsome  maiden  of 
seventeen.  She  took  her  little  orphan  cousins  to 
her  heart,  and  in  two  months  she  comforted  also  the 
forlorn  widower,  and  became  his  wife. 


Kenmore  House. 

There  is  not  the  least  doubt  that  she  was  given 
away  by  her  brother  George,  now  eighteen  years 
of  age,  and  that  Samuel,  John  Augustine,  and 
Charles,  handsome,  well-grown  lads,  were  present  at 
her  wedding.  Charles  was  twelve  years  old  ;  Samuel, 


The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

sixteen.  Elizabeth  was  "  a  fine  young  woman."  De 
scribing  her,  Mr.  Custis  used  a  favorite  word  of  the 
day.  Majesty  being  the  highest  of  all  places,  "  Ma 
jestic  "  was  the  highest  of  all  praise.  Colonial  beau 
ties  were  rarely  described  as  "  graceful,"  "  winsome," 
"  exquisite,"  "  lovely  "  ;  they  were  "  stately,"  "  ma 
jestic,"  "  queenly."  They  wore  stately  garments,  — 
paduasoy,  from  sole  de  Padua^  where  the  strong, 
lustrous  silk  so  much  worn  by  men  and  women  was 
manufactured,  or  "  tabby  "  velvet  and  silk,  the  rich 
watered  oriental  fabric  manufactured  in  Attabya,  a 
quarter  in  Bagdad.  These  were  the  grandest,  the 
most  sumptuous  fabrics  known.  The  wife  of  Gold 
smith's  Vicar  was  proud  of  her  crimson  paduasoy 
(the  silk  had  given  its  name  to  a  garment).  Samuel 
Pepys  could  not  afford  the  genuine  article,  but  he 
boasted  a  "  wastecoat  of  false  tabby."  Of  course, 
a  majestic  woman  wore  these  rich  materials,  "  silk 
gowns  wad  stand  on  end  "  like  the  gowns  of  Dum- 
biedike's  grandmother.  Who  could  be  majestic  in 
clinging,  willowy  chiffon  ?  Elizabeth  Washington, 
known  by  the  diminutive  "  Betty,"  undoubtedly 
enhanced  her  majesty  by  one  or  more  of  these 
gowns  made  in  the  fashion  invented  by  the  artist 
Watteau. 

As  to  the  rest,  we  know  she  was  "  mannerly." 
Stately  gowns  befitted  stately  manners.  People 
<c  Sirred  and  Madamed  "  each  other  in  true  John 
sonian  style,  with  many  a  low  courtesy,  veiling  the 


Betty  Washington  —  Weddings  in  Virginia      105 

bosom  with  outspread  fan,  and  many  a  profound 
bow  with  hand  on  heart.  There  was  leisure  for  all 
this  before  the  day  of  the  trolley  car  and  steam 
car,  or  even  the  stage  and  omnibus  ;  when  in  towns 
visits  were  made  at  ten  in  the  morning,  and  the 
visitors  sent  hither  and  thither  in  sedan-chairs. 
Young  ladies  of  her  day  were  expert  horsewomen. 
Those  of  us  who  saw  the  portrait  of  Betty  Washing 
ton  at  the  Centennial  in  New  York  can  imagine  her 
handsome  figure  on  horseback.  "  She  was  a  most 
majestic  woman,"  said  Mr.  Custis,  adding  that  he 
perfectly  well  remembered  her,  "  and  was  so  strik 
ingly  like  the  Chief  her  brother,  that  it  was  a  matter 
of  frolic  to  throw  a  cloak  around  her,  and  then  place 
a  military  cap  on  her  head  :  and  such  was  the  perfect 
resemblance  that  had  she  appeared  on  her  brother's 
steed,  battalions  would  have  presented  arms,  and 
senates  risen  to  do  homage  to  the  chief."  She 
adored  her  brother,  and  was  proud  to  be  so  like 
him.  "  Be  good,"  she  would  say  to  her  young 
friends  in  after  life,  "  and  I  will  be  General  Washing 
ton  for  you  !  "  Tying  her  hair  in  a  cue,  and  crown 
ing  it  with  a  cocked  hat,  she  would  take  a  sword  and 
masquerade  to  their  infinite  amusement.  She  and 
her  brother  closely  resembled  their  mother  in  form, 
carriage,  and  the  contour  of  their  faces.  They  in 
herited  her  splendid  health,  her  mental  strength,  and 
her  sterling  virtues  —  but  not  her  seriousness  which 
grew  to  be  a  settled  sadness.  Betty  Washington 


106    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

was  as  merry-hearted  a  maiden  as  might  be  found  in 
that  merry  time. 

If  somebody  had  only  thought  of  us  at  the  great 
wedding  at  "  Pine  Grove,"  when  stately  Elizabeth 
Washington  was  given  in  marriage  to  the  dignified, 
handsome  Colonel  Fielding  Lewis,  if  somebody 
had  only  described  it  for  our  sakes,  we  should  not 
be  obliged  to  imagine  it !  The  three  great  social 
occasions  of  domestic  life  were  weddings,  christen 
ings,  and  funerals.  These  were  solemnized,  if  not 
too  distant,  in  churches.  The  bride  on  the  large 
isolated  estates  made  her  vows  in  her  own  home,  in 
her  own  home  consecrated  her  offspring,  from  her 
own  home  was  borne  at  last  to  her  final  resting- 
place.  A  wedding  lasted  many  days,  during  which 
the  house  was  filled  with  feasting  kindred,  coming 
from  far  and  near.  Social  usage  varied  so  little  in 
colonial  Virginia  that  we  are  quite  safe  in  noting 
some  features  of  Betty  Washington's  wedding.  Of 
some  things  we  may  be  sure,  —  first,  there  is  not 
the  least  doubt  that  she  chose  her  own  husband. 

One  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  spirit  of  freedom 
was  the  American  girl's  determination  henceforth  to 
choose  her  husband.  She  made  mistakes  some 
times,  poor  child,  but  was  probably  silenced  by  the 
reflection  that  she  had  no  one  to  blame  but  herself. 
She'  was  much  under  the  influence  of  French 
fashions,  but  had  a  prejudice  against  the  French 
manner  of  conducting  matrimonial  alliances,  while 


Betty  Washington  —  Weddings  in  Virginia     107 

the  French  at  once  conceived  a  horror  of  the  Amer 
ican  departure.  "  We  must  marry  our  daughters  as 
soon  as  possible,"  said  a  Frenchwoman  to  an  easy 
going  American  husband.  "  If  we  do  not  take  care, 
she  will  be  like  your  terrible  Americans,  and  end  by 
joining  in  the  c  hount  for  bousband*  /  "  dropping  her 
French  to  quote  the  enormity  in  its  own  appropriate 
tongue. 

Something  of  the  old-time  English  customs  in 
contracting  parties  remained  in  the  formal  correspond 
ence  of  the  prospective  bridegroom's  father  with 
the  father  of  the  bride-elect,  presumably  before  the 
young  lady  had  been  consulted.  The  former  stated 
that  his  son  proposed  "  paying  his  addresses,"  and 
he  therefore  announced  the  number  of  acres  and 
slaves,  and  the  kind  of  house  he  could  give  his  son, 
and,  without  any  expression  of  romance  or  senti 
ment,  politely  requested  a  similar  statement  from 
the  "  party  of  the  second  part."  This  party  informs 
the  other  that  his  son  has  applied  for  "  leave  to 
make  his  addresses,"  and  states  what  be  can  do. 

Of  course,  it  sometimes  happened  that  the  matter 
rested  just  here  —  the  ideas  on  one  side  or  the 
other  being  unsatisfactory.  Then  it  was  that  Cupid 
had  his  opportunity  !  More  than  one  lover  has  hid 
den  in  the  close-screened,  cedar  summer-house,  and 
more  than  one  maiden  has  stolen  in  the  gray  dawn 
from  her  back  door,  disguised  as  her  own  maid,  to 
join  him  in  an  early  horseback  ride  to  Gretna  Green. 


io8    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Moreover,  more  than  one  such  maiden  was  "  cut  off 
with  a  shilling "  by  an  injured  father,  and  went 
through  her  life  stoutly  declaring  herself  the  happi 
est  woman  in  the  world,  albeit  not  as  rich  in  worldly 
goods  as  her  dutiful  sisters  ! 

Betty  Washington's  wedding-dress  we  must 
imagine.  It  was  probably  not  unlike  Martha 
Custis's  wedding-gown  a  few  years  later.  This 
was  thus  described  by  one  of  her  guests  :  a  white 
satin  quilt,  over  which  a  heavy  white  silk,  inter 
woven  with  threads  of  silver,  was  looped  back  with 
white  satin  ribbons,  richly  brocaded  in  a  leaf  pattern. 
Her  bodice  was  of  plain  satin,  and  the  brocade  was 
fastened  on  the  bust  with  a  stiff  butterfly  bow  of 
the  ribbon.  Delicate  lace  finished  the  low,  square 
neck.  There  were  close  elbow-sleeves  revealing  a 
puff  and  frill  of  lace.  Strings  of  pearls  were  woven 
in  and  out  of  her  powdered  hair.  Her  high-heeled 
slippers  were  of  white  satin,  with  brilliant  buckles. 
Just  this  dress,  in  style  if  not  material,  was  certainly 
worn  by  Betty. 

Her  mother  being  a  devout  churchwoman,  she 
was  probably  married  at  church.  And  if  Colonel 
Lewis  chose  to  follow  the  fashion  of  the  day,  he  was 
brave  indeed  in  a  white  satin  vest,  a  suit  of  fine 
cloth  lined  with  crimson  satin,  fine  lace  at  wrist  and 
throat,  and  diamond  (or  was  it  paste  ?)  buckles  at 
knee  and  shoe  top. 

Our  forefathers  and  foremothers  wore  good 
clothes  in  1750  ! 


Betty  Washington  —  Weddings  in  Virginia     109 

We  may  be  sure  that  none  of  the  orthodox  wed 
ding  customs  and  ceremonies  were  omitted  by  Mary 
Washington  at  her  daughter's  marriage.  There  were 
certainly  bride's  favors,  wedding-cake,  ring,  and 
thimble,  and,  alas  !  the  slipper  and  rice.  The  bride 
was  duly  provided,  for  her  bridal  costume,  with 

"  Something  old,  and  something  new, 

Something  borrowed  and  something  blue." 

The  "  old  "  was  oftenest  an  heirloom  of  lace  ;  the 
"  borrowed,"  an  orange  blossom  or  two  which  had 
been  worn  by  other  brides  ;  the  "  blue,"  a  tiny  knot 
of  ribbon  on  the  garter. 

These  ceremonies  were  full  of  significance,  and  in 
observing  them,  the  bride  linked  herself  in  the  long 
chain  which  stretches  back  to  the  early  stages  of  the 
world.  The  wedding-ring,  and  the  choice  of  the 
third  finger  as  being  connected  with  the  heart,  are 
mentioned  in  old  Egyptian  literature.  The  blue 
ribbon,  whether  worn  as  a  badge,  or  order,  or  at 
bridals,  comes  down  from  the  ancient  Israelites, 
who  were  bidden  to  put  upon  the  borders  of  their 
fringed  garments  a  "ribband  of  blue  "  —  blue,  the 
color  of  purity,  loyalty,  and  fidelity.  Bridesmaids 
were  a  relic  of  the  ten  witnesses  of  old  Roman 
weddings.  Bride's  cake  and  rice,  of  the  aristocratic 
Roman  confarreatio.  The  Spanish  custom  of 
wearing  fragments  cut  from  the  bride's  ribbons,  first 
introduced  into  England  when  Charles  II  brought 


1 10    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

home  his  Katharine  of  Portugal  to  be  England's 
queen,  survived  in  the  enormous  white  satin  rosettes 
( bride's  favors )  worn  by  the  groomsmen,  and 
survives  to-day  in  the  boutonnieres  of  the  bride's 
flowers.  The  old  and  the  new  symbolize  her  past 
and  future  —  not  divided,  but  united.  The  "  some 
thing  borrowed  "  signifies  a  pledge  to  be  redeemed. 
Nothing  is  without  significance,  which  accounts  for 
the  fact  that  all  these  old-time  customs  continue  from 
century  to  century,  and  are  so  jealously  observed 
to-day. 

One  of  the  eighteenth-century  customs,  has,  how 
ever,  been  lost  in  the  hurry  and  rush  of  our  own 
time.  The  "  infair,"  the  faring  into  the  house  of 
the  bridegroom's  parents,  was  quite  as  lengthy 
and  important  a  function  as  the  wedding.  This 
great  housewarming  entertainment  to  celebrate  the 
reception  into  the  bridegroom's  family  was  an 
ancient  English  custom,  religiously  observed  in 
Virginia  until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  quantity  of  wedding-cake  made  in  the  Vir 
ginia  kitchens  was  simply  astounding !  It  was 
packed  in  baskets  and  sent  all  over  the  country  to 
be  eaten  by  the  elders  and  "  dreamed  on  "  by  the 
maidens. 

What  would  Betty  Washington  and  Colonel 
Lewis  have  thought  of  a  wedding  reception  of  an 
hour,  and  then  a  flitting  to  parts  unknown,  leaving 
the  world  to  comfort  itself  with  a  small  square  of 


Betty  Washington  —  Weddings  in  Virginia     1 1 1 

cake  in  a  pasteboard  box?  Such  behavior  would 
have  been  little  less  than  "  flat  burglary,"  defrauding 
people  of  their  just  dues. 

Colonel    Fielding    Lewis,    although   young,    was 
already  a  merchant  of  high   standing  and  wealth,  a 


The  Hall  at  Kenmore,  showing  the  Clock  which  belonged  to  Mary 
Washington. 

vestryman,  magistrate,  and  burgess.  Kenmore,  near 
Fredericksburg,  was  built  for  him,  that  his  wife 
might  be  near  her  mother.  The  mansion,  still  kept 
in  excellent  repair,  was  reckoned  a  fine  one  at  the 
time.  It  was  built  of  brick  and  skilfully  decorated 
by  Italian  artists.  Betty  wrote  to  her  brother 
George  that  their  "  invention  had  given  out,"  and 


112    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

invited  him  to  contribute  something.  It  is  said 
that  he  designed  the  decoration  illustrating  ^Esop's 
fable  of  the  Crow  and  the  Fox,  which  adorns  the 
drawing-room  mantel  to-day.  It  is  in  stucco,  and 
besides  illustrating  the  fable  of  the  wheedling  fox 
who  seeks  to  gain  booty  by  a  smooth  tongue, 
another  fable  —  the  wolf  accusing  the  lamb  of  foul 
ing  the  water  —  is  represented.  The  story  told  at 
Kenmore  is  of  Italians  captured  in  the  French 
army  as  prisoners  of  war,  who  were  led  by  choice 
or  necessity  to  remain  in  America,  where  they  plied 
their  trade  of  decorators. 

Nine  months  after  Betty  Washington's  wed 
ding,  on  St.  Valentine's  day,  1751,  another  Field 
ing  Lewis  was  born,  and  George  Washington, 
just  nineteen,  was  godfather,  his  mother,  godmother. 
Having  done  her  duty  to  her  husband,  Betty  in 
1752  named  her  next  son  John  Augustine,  and  her 
brother  Charles,  fourteen  years  old,  was  godfather. 
A  third  boy  was  born,  1755,  and  Charles  was  again 
godfather.  In  1757  she  named  a  fourth  son 
George  Washington,  and,  in  1759,  Mary  Washing 
ton  was  sponsor  for  a  little  Mary  Lewis,  and  Sam 
uel  Washington,  godfather.  Then,  in  1760,  a  year 
after  his  own  marriage,  we  find  George  Washington 
and  his  mother  sponsors  for  a  Charles  Lewis. 
Samuel  and  Betty  were  born  respectively  in  1763 
and  1765,  and  in  April,  Lawrence,  the  lucky, — 
destined  to  win  "  the  nation's  pride,"  lovely  Nellie 


NELLIE   CUSTIS. 


Betty  Washington  —  Weddings  in  Virginia     113 

Custis,  the  adopted  daughter  of  General  Washing 
ton.  Then  Robert  and  Howell  were  born.  Again, 
and  yet  again,  was  the  traditional  gown  of  black 
brocade  brought  forth  by  the  proud  grandmother, 
as  Betty  claimed  her  mother  and  brothers  for  the 
important  and  solemn  office  of  sponsors  for  her 
splendid  boys  —  boys  that  followed  their  illustrious 
uncle  all  through  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  to 
whom  he  was  ever  the  most  faithful  of  friends  and 
guardians. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

DEFEAT    IN    WAR  :     SUCCESS    IN    LOVE 

WASHINGTON  was  only  nineteen  when 
Virginia  appointed  him  one  of  her  adju 
tants-general.  He  was  "  Major  Wash 
ington  "  now  when  he  visited  his  mother  at  "  Ferry 
Farm/'  visiting  her  only,  because  the  failing  health 
of  his  brother  Lawrence  demanded  his  care.  His 
mother  gladly  surrendered  him  for  the  comfort  of 
this,  her  devoted  stepson,  to  whom  she  had  always 
deferred  as  the  head  of  the  family.  He  went  with 
this  brother  to  try  the  warmer  climate  of  Barbados, 
bringing  him  back  ere  long  to  die  at  Mount  Vernon. 
In  1752  Governor  Dinwiddie  had  information 
about  the  French.  They  had  commenced  establish 
ing  forts  in  the  territory  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio 
claimed  by  Virginia.  The  governor  needed  some 
trusty  messenger  to  send  to  the  Chevalier  Le 
Gardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  the  French  commander,  to 
claim  that  country  as  belonging  to  his  Britannic 
Majesty,  "and,"  says  Burnaby  in  his  "Travels  in 
Virginia,"  1759,"  Mr.  Washington,  a  young  gentle 
man  of  fortune  just  arrived  at  age,  offered  his  ser 
vice  on  this  important  occasion.  The  distance  was 

114 


Defeat  in  War:  Success  in  Love  115 

more  than    four    hundred    miles ;  two  hundred  of 
which  lay  through  a  trackless  wilderness,  inhabited 


George  Washington  as  Major. 

by  cruel  and  merciless  savages,  and  the  season  was 
uncommonly   severe.      Notwithstanding    these    dis- 


116    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

couraging  circumstances,  Mr.  Washington,  attended 
by  one  servant  only,  set  out  upon  this  dangerous 
enterprise ;  travelled  from  Winchester  on  foot, 
carrying  his  provisions  on  his  back,  executed  his 
commission ;  and  after  incredible  hardships,  and 
many  providential  escapes,  returned  safe  to  Williams- 
burg." 

He  was  in  love  with  action  and  adventure!  He 
had  said  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  "  For  my  own 
part  I  can  answer  that  I  have  a  constitution  hardy 
enough  to  encounter  and  undergo  the  most  severe 
trials,  and  I  flatter  myself  resolution  to  face  what 
any  man  dares,  —  as  I  shall  prove  when  it  comes 
to  the  test." 

France  refused  to  surrender  her  claim.  The 
courtly  old  chevalier  abated  nothing  of  his  punc 
tilious  courtesy  when  he  received  the  youthful 
ambassador  —  doubtless  bronzed  and  travel-soiled. 
He  said,  very  politely,  "  I  am  here  by  the  orders 
of  my  General,  and  I  entreat  you,  Sir,  not  to  doubt 
one  moment  but  that  I  am  determined  to  conform 
myself  to  them  with  all  exactness  and  resolution 
that  can  be  expected  from  the  best  officer."  So,  in 
1754,  Dinwiddie  sent  the  young  major  back  again 
—  this  time  at  the  head  of  some  soldiers.  In  writ 
ing  to  the  other  governors  for  men,  he  says,  "  I 
sent  a  Gent :  to  the  Place  by  whom  I  know  the 
Truth."  A  large  force  of  the  French  appearing, 
"The  Gent"  (Major  Washington)  was  compelled 


Defeat  in  War:  Success  in  Love  117 

to  surrender  and,  politely  bowed  out  by  the  old 
chevalier,  permitted  to  return  to  Virginia. 

This  bitter  experience  had  not  the  effect  of  dis 
couraging  Washington.  It  only  made  him  long 
for  another  chance,  with  another  result.  He  had 
written  lightly  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  as  if  he 
were  arranging  a  tournament,  "  We  have  prepared 
a  charming  field  for  an  encounter."  It  is  even  said 
that  he  added,  "  I  know  no  music  so  pleasing  as 
the  whistling  of  Bullets."  This  was  repeated  to 
George  the  Second.  "  He  would  not  say  so,"  said 
the  soldier-king,  "  had  he  been  used  to  many  ! " 
Years  afterward  Washington  was  reminded  of  this 
incident,  and  he  thoughtfully  replied,  "  If  I  said  so, 
it  was  when  I  was  young !  " 

His  mother,  foreseeing  the  tendency  of  all  these 
events,  had  bitterly  opposed  his  last  disastrous  ex 
pedition.  He  was  a  man  of  independent  fortune, 
and  had  declined  remuneration  for  his  services 
as  he  afterwards  declined  all  pay  during  the  years 
he  served  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  She 
wished  him  to  live  on  his  own  estate  as  became  a 
country  gentleman.  Her  opposition  to  his  fighting 
against  the  English  crown  was  not  one  whit  greater 
than  her  opposition  to  his  fighting  for  the  crown. 
The  word  "  loyal  "  was  a  shifting  quantity  in  her 
time,  meaning  one  thing  to-day  and  another 
to-morrow  !  The  peril  and  the  hardship  were  the 
same  in  either  case. 


n8    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 


The  first  time  that  he  set  forth  for  the  frontier 
his  mother  almost  succumbed.  "  Oh,  this  fighting 
and  killing  !  "  she  exclaimed,  as  she  entreated  him 
not  to  go.  When  convinced  that  she  must  sacrifice 
herself  to  his  duty  to  his  country  she  became  calm. 
Laying  her  hand  upon  his  shoulder,  she  said,  sol 
emnly  :  "  God  is  our  sure  trust.  To  Him  I  com 
mend  you."  She  thus  un 
consciously  provided  him 
with  an  unanswerable  argu 
ment  for  another  time. 
When  General  Braddock 
offered  him  a  place  on  his 
staff  she  drove  to  Mount 
Vernon  to  entreat  him  not 
to  accept  the  honor.  "  The 
God  to  whom  you  com 
mended  me,  Madam,  when 
I  set  out  on  a  more  perilous  errand,  defended  me 
from  all  harm,  and  I  trust  he  will  do  so  now/'  was 
the  reply. 

When  the  news  of  Braddock's  defeat  and  the 
dreadful  slaughter  of  his  army  reached  Fredericks- 
burg  the  anxious  mother  was  forced  to  wait  twelve 
days  before  she  could  be  assured  of  her  son's  safety. 
In  a  long,  calm  letter  he  tells  her  of  all  his  dangers 
and  his  own  wonderful  escape,  with  four  bullets 
through  his  coat  and  two  horses  shot  under  him. 
He  tells  her,  too,  of  an  illness  which  confined  him 


General  Braddock. 


Defeat  in  War:    Success  in  Love  119 

in  a  wagon  for  more  than  ten  days  ;  how  he  was  not 
half  recovered  at  the  time  of  the  fight ;  how  he  must 
halt  and  rest  often  upon  his  way  home  to  Mount 
Vernon,  which  he  could  scarce  hope  to  leave  before 
September;  how  he  was,  "Honored  Madam,"  her 
most  dutiful  son. 

She  drove  to  Mount  Vernon  to  meet  him,  and 
warmly  entreated  him  to  leave  the  service  forever, 
urging  the  loss  of  health  and  fortune  should  he  remain 
in  it.  He  had  no  answer  then,  but  after  she  was  at 
home  she  received  his  final  word. 

"  HONORED  MADAM  :  If  it  is  in  my  power  to  avoid  going 
to  Ohio  again,  I  shall ;  but  if  the  command  is  pressed  upon 
me  by  the  general  voice  of  the  country,  and  offered  upon 
such  terms  as  cannot  be  objected  against,  it  would  reflect 
dishonor  upon  me  to  refuse  it,  and  that,  I  am  sure  must,  or 
ought,  to  give  you  greater  uneasiness  than  my  going  in  an 
honorable  command.  Upon  no  other  terms  will  I  accept 
it." 

The  code  of  manners  which  ruled  Virginia  in  the 
eighteenth  century  forbade  familiarity  or  the  dis 
cussion  of  personalities.  Washington's  letters  to 
"  Honored  Madam,"  as  he  always  addressed  his 
mother,  relate  mainly  to  important  public  events. 
Nothing  is  told  of  his  ups  and  downs,  which  he 
seems  to  have  had  in  common  with  ordinary  mor 
tals  ;  of-the  envious  slanderers  who  strove  to  under 
mine  him  in  the  estimation  of  the  governor;  still 
less  of  his  repulse  by  the  father  of  Miss  Mary  Gary 


I2O    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

who  curtly  refused  him  his  daughter's  hand  for  the 
reason  that  she  was  "accustomed  to  riding  in  her 
own  carriage  "  and  therefore  above  Virginia's  young 
major.  Bishop  Meade  says  that  this  lady,  after 
wards  the  wife  of  Edward  Ambler,  was  in  the  throng 
of  applauding  citizens  when  Washington  passed 
through  Williamsburg  at  the  head  of  the  American 
army.  He  recognized  her,  and  gallantly  waved 
his  sword  to  her,  whereupon  she  fainted.  Nobody 
knows  that  she  ever  wished  to  accept  Major  Wash 
ington.  Had  he  waited  until  1753,  her  prudent 
father  could  have  urged  no  objection  to  the  hand 
some  young  lover.  In  1752  Lawrence  Washington 
died,  directing  in  his  will,  in  case  of  the  demise  of 
his  wife  without  issue,  the  estate  at  Mount  Vernon 
should  become  the  property  of  his  brother  George. 
Within  the  year  the  young  major  received  this 
legacy. 

He  seems  to  have  been  —  for  him  —  very  faithful 
to  an  early  dream.  If  he  cherished,  as  he  doubtless 
did,  hopes  of  winning  his  "  Lowland  Beauty,"  she 
now  put  an  end  to  his  dream  by  marrying,  in  1753, 
Henry  Lee  of  Stafford  ;  and  it  may  be  remembered 
that  it  was  in  this  year,  and  only  one  month  before 
her  marriage,  that  he  sought  the  governor's  permis 
sion  to  bear  a  message  of  remonstrance  to  the  Chev 
alier  de  St.  Pierre.  Like  a  wise  soldier  he  knew 
when  he  was  defeated  and  retreated  accordingly. 

He  did  not  marry  until  1759;  but  it  is  not  to  be 


Defeat  in  War:    Success  in  Love  121 

supposed  that  his  heart  was  breaking  all  these  six 
years  for  Miss  Mary  Gary  or  for  the  lovely  Lucy 
Grymes,  the  "  Lowland  Beauty."  Do  we  not  know 
of  Miss  Mary  Philipse,  whose  father's  manor-house 
may  still  be  seen  on  the  Hudson  ?  Washington 
Irving  thinks  she  could  not  have  refused  him,  that 
he  "  rode  away "  before  he  had  "  made  sufficient 
approaches  in  his  siege  of  the  lady's  heart  to  warrant 
a  summons  of  surrender." 

However  this  may  be,  all  went  well  with  the 
parties  to  the  drama  in  Virginia.  The  "  Lowland 
Beauty  "  was  the  wife  of  one  of  Virginia's  honored 
sons,  and  the  mother  of  "  Light-horse  Harry"  Lee. 
Perfect  happiness  was  only  waiting  a  few  necessary 
preliminary  events  to  crown  the  young  soldier's  life 
with  joy,  in  the  person  of  the  fascinating  widow, 
Martha  Custis,  who,  according  to  old  Bishop  Meade 
(who  relished  an  innocent  bit  of  gossip),  resembled 
Miss  Gary  as  one  twin-sister  does  another.  He 
resigned  his  position  as  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Virginia  forces,  and  reasonably  looked  forward  to  a 
life  of  calm  content  in  his  home  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Potomac. 

Washington  had  always,  his  rebuffs  to  the  con 
trary  nevertheless,  flattered  himself  that  he  could 
"get  along"  with  the  ladies.  There  was  never  a 
moment  that  some  "  Faire  Mayde  "  was  not  well  to 
the  fore,  and  it  is  known  that  he  offered  his  heart 
and  sword  to  three, —  Mary  Gary,  Lucy  Grymes, 


122     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

and  Mary  Philipse.  With  the  latter  he  acknowl 
edged  that  he  had  been  too  hasty.  He  thought 
things  might  have  resulted  differently  if  he  had 
"  waited  until  ye  ladye  was  in  ye  mood." 

Two  years  later  he  repeated  his  imprudence.  Mr. 
Tony  Weller  had  not  then  been  born,  and  there 
was  nobody  to  bid  him  beware.  He  paid  an  after 
noon  call,  fell  in  love  in  an  hour,  and  stayed  on  and 
on  until  he  was  accepted.  In  a  few  days  we  find 
this  entry  in  his  cash  account,  "  One  Engagement 
Ring,  £2,  i6s.,od." 

Mrs.  Custis  felt  a  little  shy  in  announcing  so 
hasty  an  engagement  to  her  friends,  "  My  dear,  the 
truth  is  my  estate  is  getting  in  a  bad  way,  and  I 
need  a  man  to  look  after  it." 

The  estate  was  large.  She  owned  fifteen  thou 
sand  acres  of  land,  many  city  lots,  two  hundred  ne 
groes,  and  money  besides, — a  great  fortune  in  colonial 
days.  He  had  just  returned  from  a  brilliant  cam 
paign  ;  was  gallant,  young,  and  handsome  ;  was  just 
elected  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses ;  and 
was  master  of  a  fair  domain  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Potomac,  and  so  "ye  ladye"  found  herself  "in  ye 
mood." 

When  he  married  the  beautiful,  rich  widow,  his 
mother  was  exultant.  Now  he  was  safe  !  All  the 
killing  and  fighting  were  over  and  done  with.  He 
was  to  live  near  her  at  Mount  Vernon.  She  was 
now  fifty-two  years  old,  and  was  going  to  enjoy 


Defeat  in  War :    Success  in  Love 


123 


a  serene  and  happy  old  age  at  last.  She  wrote  her 
brother,  "  I  have  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  about 
George,  but  it  is  all  over  now." 

She  had  a  long  season  of  busy  home  life,  happy 
when  she  might  be  in  the  happiness  of  her  children. 
Her  warrior  son 
was  behaving  at 
last  as  became  a 
dignified  coun 
try  gentleman. 
But  Fate  was 
only  preparing 
him  for  future 
greatness.  In 
the  administra 
tion  of  his  large 
estate,  and  in 
the  county  and 
provincial  busi 
ness,  he  was  ac 
quiring  the  rare 
skill  in  reading 
and  managing 
men,  for  which  he  became  so  remarkable.  But  of 
this  he  was  totally  unconscious.  He  had  small  am 
bitions.  He  was  proposing  himself  to  the  electors 
of  Frederick  County,  having  "  an  easy  and  credit 
able  Poll,"  cheerfully  paying  his  self-imposed  assess 
ment  of  thirty-nine  pounds  and  ten  shillings  besides 


St.  Peter's  Church,  in  which  George  Washing 
ton  was  married. 


124    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"cyder  and  dinner"  for  his  constituency.  He  was 
attending  the  Annapolis  races  ;  going  down  to  Will- 
iamsburg  for  the  assembly  with  Mrs.  Washington 
and  Miss  Custis  ;  loading  his  wagons  to  provision 
his  family  and  Colonel  Bassett's  on  a  visit  "  to  try 
the  waters  of  the  warm  springs,"  much  exercised  lest 


Williamsburg. 

Jack  Custis  were  premature  in  winning  the  affections 
of  Miss  Calvert  (for  Jack  was  only  eighteen,  had 
been  "  fickle,  and  might  wound  the  young  lady  ") ; 
nay,  he  was  beating  his  sword  into  a  ploughshare, 
his  spear  into  a  pruning-hook,  planting  May-Duke 
cherries  and  guelder-roses,  and  lamenting  "  Rust  in 
the  wheat  and  Drought  in  the  Corn  crop."  More- 


MARTHA   CUSTIS. 


Defeat  in  War:    Success  in  Love  125 

over,  he  was  writing  letters  to  England,  giving 
orders  for  all  sorts  of  foreign  elegancies,  for  his 
own  wear  and  that  of  Madam  Washington  and  her 
children.  Let  us  copy  a  summer  order  sent  to 
London  in  1761. 

For  his  use  the  great  man  wants  "  a  superfine  velvet 
suit  with  garters  for  the  breeches  ;  pumps,  riding- 
gloves,  worked  ruffles  at  twenty  shillings  a  pair;  hous 
ings  of  fine  cloth  edged  with  embroidery,  plain  clothes 
with  gold  or  silver  buttons  !  "  For  Mrs.  Washing 
ton  he  orders  "a  salmon-colored  tabby  velvet  with 
satin  flowers;  ruffles  of  Brussels  lace  or  point,  to 
cost  twenty  pounds  ;  fine  silk  hose,  white  and  black 
satin  shoes  ;  six  pairs  of  mitts  ;  six  pairs  of  best  kid 
gloves  ;  one  dozen  most  fashionable  pocket-hand 
kerchiefs  ;  one  dozen  knots  and  breast-knots  ;  real 
miniken  (very  small)  pins  and  hairpins  ;  a  puckered 
petticoat ;  six  pounds  of  perfumed  powder ;  hand 
some  breast  flowers  (bouquets  de  corsage]  and  some 
sugar  candy." 

I  have  not  room  for  Master  Custis's  outfit  at 
eight  years  old,  nor  that  of  Master  Custis's  livened 
servant  of  fourteen  years  old,  but  I  cannot  omit  the 
delightful  order  for  little  "  Miss  Custis,  six  years 
old,"  namely,  "  A  coat  of  fashionable  silk,  with  bib 
apron,  ruffles  and  lace  tucker ;  four  fashionable 
dresses  of  long  lawn  ;  fine  cambric  frocks  ;  a  satin 
capuchin  hat  and  neckatees ;  satin  shoes  and  white 
kid  gloves ;  silver  shoe-buckles ;  sleeve-buttons, 


126     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

aigrettes ;  six  thousand  pins,  large  and  short  and 
minikin  ;  a  fashionable  dressed  doll  to  cost  a  guinea  ; 
gingerbread,  toys,  sugar  images  and  comfits;  a  Bible 
and  prayer-book ;  and  one  very  good  spinet,  to  be 
made  by  Mr.  Plinius,  harpsichord  maker,  in  South 
Audley  street,  Grosvenor  square,  with  a  good  assort 
ment  of  spare  strings."  Not  too  much,  assuredly, 
for  the  little  beauty,  but  not  Spartan  simplicity 
nevertheless. 

Six  years  later,  it  is  recorded  that  "  the  Fair  Sex, 
laying  aside  the  fashionable  ornaments  of  England, 
exulted,  with  patriotic  pride,  in  appearing  dressed 
with  the  produce  of  their  own  looms." 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

IN    AND    AROUND    FREDERICKSBURG 

THE  origin  of  the  names  of  the  estates  in 
the  Northern  Neck  can  easily  be  traced.  A 
few  were  Indian :  "  Quantico,"  "  Occoquan," 
cc  Monacan,"  "  Chappawamsic,"  "  Chotank."  Many 
were  English  :  "  Stratford,"  "  Wakefield,"  "  Marl 
boro,"  "Chatham,"  "  Gunston  Hall,"  "Mount 
Vernon,"  "  Ravensworth,"  "  Blenheim,"  "  Mar- 
mion,"  —  the  latter,  of  course,  not  named  for  Scott's 
fictitious  hero  (seeing  that  Sir  Walter  had  not  yet 
been  born),  but,  doubtless,  by  some  emigrant  of 
Lincolnshire  descent,  in  honor  of  Sir  Robert  de 
Marmion,  who  cc  came  over  with  the  Conqueror," 
and  was  granted  a  manor  in  Lincolnshire.  "  Chan- 
tilly "  was  thus  named  by  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
after  the  beautiful  chateau  and  grounds  of  the  Prince 
Conde,  near  Paris. 

Mount  Vernon  was  not  too  distant  to  be  in  Mary 
Washington's  neighborhood.  She  had  but  to  cross 
the  neck  of  land  to  the  Potomac,  and  a  pleasant  sail 
would  bring  her  to  the  little  wharf  at  Mount  Vernon 
— just  where  we,  patriotic  pilgrims,  so  often  now 

127 


128     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

land  to  render  our  pious  homage  to  the  sacred 
homestead. 

Within  visiting  distance  of  Mount  Vernon  was  the 
"  Chippawamsic  "  plantation,  at  which  lived  another 
widow,  rich,  young,  and  beautiful,  —  Ann  Mason, 
the  mother  of  George  Mason,  the  patriot  and  states 
man,  author  of  the  Virginia  Bill  of  Rights  (the  first 
complete  formula  of  the  civil  and  political  rights  of 
man  ever  promulgated)  and  author  of  the  Virginia 
constitution  of  1776,  the  first  written  constitution 
of  government  ever  adopted  by  a  free  people. 

No  one  who  studies  the  peculiar  characteristics 
of  Virginians  of  this  period  can  doubt  that  both 
these  young  widows  were  sought  by  many  suitors. 
The  zeal  with  which  men  made  haste  to  fill  the 
places  of  departed  wives  was  something  marvellous  ! 
Samuel  Washington  was  married  five  times,  and  one 
instance  is  recorded  of  a  colonial  dame  in  the  best 
society  who  had  six  husbands  !  The  early  marriage 
of  widows  was  the  more  desirable  because  of  the 
outlying  estates  which  required  management.  Mar 
tha  Custis  gave  this  as  excuse  for  her  prompt  ac 
ceptance  of  Colonel  Washington.  But  Ann  Mason 
and  Mary  Washington  never  married  again.  Each 
possessed  great  executive  ability,  as  well  as  unusual 
personal  and  intellectual  gifts.  Each  elected  to 
devote  those  gifts  to  her  children.  Each  was  the 
mother  of  a  great  patriot.  And  it  is  altogether 
probable  that  each  one  was  the  devoted  friend  of 


In  and  Around  Fredericksburg  129 

the  other,  and  that  the  close  friendship  between 
the  two  Georges  was  inherited  from  their  parents. 
Another  Ann  Mason  left  letters  and  records  which 
give  us  a  hint  of  the  belongings  of  a  Virginia  house 
wife  of  her  day.  She  enumerates  among  her  daugh 
ter's  expenses  prices  paid  for  shoes  with  wooden 
heels,  hoop  petticoats,  and  linen.  George  Mason 
of"  Gunston  Hall,"  the  greatest,  perhaps,  of  all  the 
statesmen  in  an  age  of  great  statesmen,  remembered 
the  furniture  of  his  mother's  bedroom.  In  it  was 
a  large  chest  of  drawers  —  a  veritable  high-boy!1 
Three  long  drawers  at  the  bottom  contained  chil 
dren's  garments,  in  which  the  children  might  rum 
mage.  Above  these  and  the  whole  length  of  the 
case  were  the  gown-drawer,  the  cap-drawer,  the 
shirt-drawer,  the  jacket-drawer ;  above  these  a 
series  of  drawers  always  kept  locked,  containing 
gauzes,  laces,  and  jewels  of  value  —  ten  or  twelve 
drawers  in  all !  Then  there  were  two  large,  deep 
closets,  one  on  each  side  of  the  recess  afforded  by 
a  spacious  stack  of  chimneys,  one  for  household 
linen,  the  other  "the  mistress's  closet,"  which  last 
contained  a  well-remembered  article,  a  small  green 
horsewhip,  so  often  successfully  applied  to  unruly 
children  that  they  dubbed  it  "  the  green  Doctor." 
George  Mason  remembered  other  things  in  con 
nection  with  this  splendid  woman.  She  gathered 
her  children  around  her  knees  morning  and  evening 

1  "  Life  of  George  Mason,"  by  Kate  Mason  Rowland. 


130    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

to  "  say  their  prayers."  She  was  a  lovely  woman, 
true  to  her  friends,  pious  to  her  Maker,  humane, 
prudent,  tender,  charming  :  — 

"  Free  from  her  sex's  smallest  faults, 
And  fair  as  womankind  can  be." 

Both  these  Ann  Masons  —  the  wife  of  the  states 
man  and  her  mother-in-law  —  lived  and  died  near 
Mary  Washington's  home  before  1773.  Both  were 
brilliant  women,  with  personal  charm  and  amiable 
dispositions. 

Near  the  Masons,  at  "  Marlboro,"  lived  John 
Mercer,  a  lawyer  of  fine  talents  and  attainments, 
and  owner  of  one  of  the  best  private  libraries  in 
the  colony.  Virginia  bibliophiles  still  boast  in 
their  collections  some  of  his  books  containing  his 
heraldic  book-plate.  There  was  a  George  in  his 
family,  one  year  younger  than  George  Washington. 
Their  homes  were  just  sixteen  miles  apart  —  a  mere 
nothing  of  distance,  as  neighborhoods  were  reck 
oned  in  those  days  —  and  both  in  Overwharton 
parish.  The  Mercers  were  lifelong  friends  of 
Mary  Washington.  General  Mercer  died  in  her 
grandson's  arms.  Judge  James  Mercer  wrote  her 
will. 

Then,  not  far  from  John  Mercer's,  lived  one  of 
the  largest  landed  proprietors  in  Stafford,  a  promi 
nent  burgess  and  planter  of  his  day,  Raleigh  Travers 
—  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  family  —  and  married  to 


In  and  Around  Fredericksburg  131 

Mary  Washington's  half-sister,  Hannah  Ball.  They 
were  founders  of  one  of  Virginia's  great  families,  "dis 
tinguished  in  later  years  for  breeding,  learning,  and 
eloquence."  Two  miles  from  "  Marlboro  "  lived  one 
of  their  daughters,  Sarah,  married  to  Colonel  Peter 
Daniel,  of  the  "Crow's  Nest." 

Then  came  "Boscobel,"  the  residence  of  Thomas 
Fitzhugh,  the  father  of  a  family  of  interesting  young 
people.  Susannah  Fitzhugh  still  smiles  to  us  from 
these  pages  in  her  rich  robe  over  a  pearl  embroidered 
skirt  and  bodice  of  white  satin,  with  a  necklace  of 
pearls  festooned  over  her  fair  bodice. 

She  was  just  three  years  younger  than  her  beauti 
ful  cousin  Elizabeth,  who  lived  at  "  Belle-Air  "  (her 
mother  was  Alice  Thornton),  and  whose  portrait, 
painted  by  Hesselius,  presents  the  fashionable  dress 
of  her  day.  The  gown  is  of  fawn  color,  square 
corsage,  elbow  sleeves  with  lace  ruffles  (like  Susan 
nah's),  the  hair  carried  smoothly  back  from  her 
brows,  piled  high  over  a  cushion,  and  dressed  with 
strings  of  pearls. 

The  Fitzhughs  did  not  quite  "  own  the  earth  "  in 
their  region,  —  Lord  Fairfax  did  that,  —  but  they 
owned  a  goodly  portion  of  it:  "Eagle's  Nest"  in 
Stafford  County,  "Somerset"  in  King  George,  "  Bos- 
cobel,"  "  Belle-Air,"  and  "  Chatham  "  in  Stafford, 
"  Ravensworth  "  in  Fairfax.  At  the  latter  General 
Custis  Lee,  an  honored  descendant  of  this  honored 
race,  sits  to-day  under  the  trees  his  fathers  planted. 


132     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

In  the  Fitzhugh  pedigree  the  Thorntons  crop  up 
again  and  again.  One  may  sink  a  mine  in  any 
Virginia  genealogy  and  he  will  encounter  the  names 
of  all  these  neighbors  of  Mary  Washington. 

At  "  Salvington "  lived  the  Seldens,  to  whom 
Mary  Washington  was  bound  by  ties  of  close 
kindred.  Mary  Ball,  daughter  of  Major  James 
Ball  of  "  Bewdley,"  in  whose  arms  Mary  Wash 
ington  had  hastened  to  place  her  son  George  when 
one  month  old,  had  married  John  Selden.  For  his 
second  wife  he  chose  her  first  cousin,  Sarah  Ball, 
whose  tombstone  may  be  seen  to-day  in  the  woods 
a  mile  from  Lancaster  court-house. 

Later,  a  Samuel  Selden  married  Mary  Thomp 
son  Mason  (she  of  the  wooden-heeled  shoes  and 
hoop  petticoat),  famous  for  her  beauty,  as  was  her 
mother  before  her.  The  second  wife  of  Samuel 
Selden  was  Ann  Mercer.  Many  of  the  descend 
ants  of  these  women  inherited  great  beauty.  Even 
a  little  drop  of  their  blood  suffices  to  endow  many 
a  Virginia  woman  of  to-day. 

At  "  Cleve,"  on  the  Rappahannock,  lived  Charles 
Carter,  and  thither  "  Light-horse  Harry "  Lee 
went  for  his  sweet  wife  Anne.  Charles  Carter's 
father,  Robert,  the  mighty  man  of  Lancaster, — 
"  King  "  Carter,  —  died  in  the  year  George  Washing 
ton  was  born.  He  had  built  Christ  Church,  where 
Mary  Washington  was  possibly  baptized,  for  her 
father  lived  near  the  church.  King  Carter  owned 


In  and  Around  Fredericksburg  133 

300,000    acres    of  land,    1000    slaves,  ;£  10,000  in 
money.     The  cattle  on  a  thousand  hills  were  his. 


"Light-horse  Harry"  Lee. 


He  left  many  children,  all  of  whom  he  was  able  to 
enrich,  and  many  of  whom  distinguished  themselves 
in  things  better  than  riches. 

"  Cleve,"  with  its  octagon  front,  is  still   in  good 


134    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

preservation,  and  is  a  fine  example  of  the  early 
Georgian  manor-house,  having  been  built  early 
in  the  eighteenth  century.  An  excellent  portrait 
of  its  builder,  Charles  Carter,  looks  down  to-day 
upon  his  descendants  who  still  own  and  live  in  the 

mansion. 

Four  miles  below 
Mary  Washington's 
home  was  "  New- 
post/'  the  ancestral 
home  of  John  Spots- 
wood,  a  son  of  Gov 
ernor  Spotswood. 
His  two  sons,  Alex 
ander  and  John,  were 
destined  to  serve  in 
the  Revolutionary 
War,  one  as  a  general, 
the  other  a  captain, 
and  to  mingle  the 

Governor  Spotswood.  SpOtSWOod     with     the 

Washington  blood  by 
marriage  with  one  of  Mary  Washington's  grand 
daughters.  They  came  honestly  by  their  dash  and 
spirit  through  the  Spotswoods. 

It    appears    that    the    Virginia    Gazette    of   1737 

.lent    its    columns    to    an    article    against    Governor 

Spotswood,  written  by  a  Colonel   Edwin    Conway, 

upbraiding  the  governor  for  delaying  to  turn  over 


In  and  Around  Fredericksburg  135 

the  arms  intended  for  Brunswick  County.  The 
article  was  entitled,  "  A  Hint  to  discover  a  few  of 
Colonel  Spotswood's  Proceedings."  A  few  days 
after  its  appearance  the  Gazette  printed  the  fol 
lowing  :  — 

"AN  HINT  FOR  A  HINT 
"  MR.  PARKS, 

"  I  have  learnt  in  my  Book,  so  far  as  to  be  able  to  read 
plain  English,  when  printed  in  your  Papers,  and  finding 
in  one  of  them  my  Papa's  name  often  mentioned  by  a 
scolding  man  called  Edwin  Conway,  I  asked  my  Papa 
whether  he  did  not  design  to  answer  him.  But  he  re 
plied  :  c  No  child,  this  is  a  better  Contest  for  you  that  are 
a  school  Boy,  for  it  will  not  become  me  to  answer  every 
Fool  in  his  Folly,  as  the  lesson  you  learned  the  other  day 
of  the  Lion  and  the  Ass  may  teach  you.'  This  Hint 
being  given  me,  I  copied  out  the  said  Lesson  and  now 
send  you  the  same  for  my  answer  to  Mr.  Conway's  Hint 
from 

u  Sir,  your  Humble  Servant 

"  John  Spotswood." 

"FEB.  10.  A  LION  AND  AN  Ass 

"An  Ass  was  so  hardy  once  as  to  fall  a  mopping  and 
Braying  at  a  Lion.  The  Lion  began  at  first  to  show  his 
Teeth,  and  to  stomach  the  Affront.  But  upon  second 
Thoughts,  Well,  says  he,  Jeer  on  and  be  an  Ass  still,  take 
notice  only  by  the  way  that  it  is  the  Baseness  of  your 
Character  that  has  saved  your  Carcass." 

There  was  a  famous  beauty  in  the  family  of 
Spotswood  who  shared,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter, 


136     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

in  the  spirit  of  her  race.  This  was  Kate !  She 
wore,  on  her  high  days  and  holidays,  fawn-colored 
satin,  looped  over  a  blue  satin  petticoat,  square 
bodice  and  elbow  sleeves  and  ruffles  ;  and  her  feet, 
which  were  extremely  small  and  beautifully  formed, 
were  shod  in  blue  satin  shoes,  with  silver  buckles. 
Age  did  not  wither  this  haughty  beauty.  Her 
granddaughter  remembered  her  as  she  combed  a 
wealth  of  silver  hair,  a  servant  the  while  holding 
before  her  a  mirror. 

Not  far  from  "  Pine  Grove "  was  "  Traveller's 
Rest,"  the  most  beautiful  and  significant  of  all  the 
ambitious  names  of  stately  mansions  on  the  Rap- 
pahannock.  "  It  should  be  called,"  said  Byrd 
Willis,  "Saint's  Rest  —  for  only  they  ever  go 
there  !  "  "  Traveller's  Rest  "  was  part  of  the  "  200 
acres  of  land  on  ye  freshes  of  Rappahannock 
River "  bequeathed  to  Mary  Ball  by  her  father, 
Joseph  Ball.  The  family  of  Gray  long  lived  at 
"  Traveller's  Rest,"  and  thither  in  after  years,  At- 
cheson  Gray  brought  his  child-wife  Catherine  Willis, 
the  great-granddaughter  of  Mary  Washington. 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  country  gentry 
among  whom  Mary  Washington  lived,  and  to 
whom  she  was  related.  Time  would  fail  to  de 
scribe  them  all  —  Colonel  Thomas  Ludwell  Lee 
of  "Berry  Hill";  "  Bellevue  "  and  its  occupants; 
the  Brent  family  at  Richland,  in  Stafford  County; 
"  Belle  Plaine,"  the  residence  of  the  Waugh  family. 


In  and  Around  Fredericksburg  137 

All  these  places  were  in  a  space  of  eight  or  ten 
square  miles,  and  from  generation  to  generation 
the  sons  looked  upon  the  daughters  of  their 
neighbor  cousins,  and  found  them  fair,  until  the 
families  were  knit  together  in  every  conceivable 
degree  of  kinship. 

In  the  town  of  Fredericksburg  Mary  Washing 
ton  had  near  relatives  and  friends.  Roger  Gregory, 
the  merry-hearted,  had  married  a  woman  as  merry- 
hearted  as  himself,  —  Mildred  Washington,  George 
Washington's  aunt  and  godmother.  Foremost  at 
the  races,  and  first  on  all  occasions  of  mirth,  was 
Roger  Gregory.  It  has  been  said  that  Augustine 
Washington  was  optimistic  in  his  temperament, 
and,  like  his  sister  Mildred,  conspicuous  for  cheer 
fulness —  also  that  from  him  Betty  Washington 
and  her  brothers  inherited  their  love  for  gay,  social 
life  —  that  Mary  Washington  was  always  serious, 
and  in  her  later  years  almost  tragic.  She  surely 
had  enough,  poor  lady,  to  make  her  so. 

Roger  Gregory  had  died  just  before  George 
Washington  was  born,  and  his  widow  married 
Henry  Willis  of  "  Willis's  Hill,"  Fredericksburg, 
afterwards  "  Marye's  Heights,"  where  the  fierce 
battle  of  the  Civil  War  was  fought.  Mildred's 
three  charming  Gregory  girls  were  prominent 
figures  as  they  trod  the  streets  of  old  Fredericks 
burg —  the  streets  named  after  the  Royal  Princes  — 
clad  in  their  long  cloaks  and  gypsy  bonnets  tied 


138     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

under  their  chins.  They  were  soon  absorbed  by  a 
trio  of  Thorntons,  and  their  mother  Mildred  left 
alone  with  her  one  son,  Lewis  Willis.  "  Old  Henry 
Willis,"  his  father,  had  married  three  times,  boasting 
that  he  "  had  courted  his  wives  as  maids  and  married 
them  as  widows."  He  was  a  rich  old  fellow  with  a 
long  pedigree  and  gorgeous  coat  of  arms  on  his  coach 
panels.  Mildred  Gregory  had  wept  so  bitterly  when 
the  death  of  his  first  wife  was  announced  to  her,  that 
a  friend  expressed  surprise.  "  Mildred  Willis,"  she 
explained,  "  was  my  namesake  and  cousin,  and  I 
grieve  to  lose  her.  But  that  is  not  the  worst  of  it ! 
I  am  perfectly  sure  old  Henry  Willis  will  soon  be 
coming  down  to  see  me  —  and  I  don't  know  what 
in  the  world  I  can  do  with  him  !  "  Would  it  be 
sinister  to  suggest  that  the  lady  was  already  won  ? 
It  appears  she  knew  her  man.  Had  he  not  been 
her  suitor  in  her  girlhood  ?  His  grandson  says,  "  In 
one  little  month  he  sat  himself  at  her  door  and 
commenced  a  regular  siege  :  and  in  less  than  two 
months  after  his  wife's  death  he  married  her." 

If  the  shade  of  this  wife  was  permitted  to  be  a 
troubled  witness  of  her  recent  husband's  marriage, 
she  could  not  complain.  She  had  been  -herself  the 
widow,  Brown,  only  for  one  month  before  she  had 
married  Henry  Willis. 

This  Colonel  Henry  Willis  was  known  as  "  The 
Founder  of  Fredericksburg."  Colonel  William 
Byrd  visited  him  immediately  after  his  marriage 


In  and  Around  Fredericksburg  139 

with  Mildred  Gregory,  and  spoke  of  him  as  "  the 
top  man  of  the  place."  Mildred  Washington 
(Widow  Gregory)  had  one  son  by  her  marriage 
with  Henry  Willis.  She  named  him  for  her  first 
husband  —  her  first  love — Lewis.  He  was  two 
years  younger  than  his  cousin,  George  Washington. 
The  boys  attended  the  same  school,  and  were  com 
panions  and  playmates.  Lewis  Willis  often  spoke 
of  George  Washington's  industry  and  assiduity  at 
school  as  very  remarkable.  While  his  brother 
Samuel,  Lewis  Willis,  and  "  the  other  boys  at  play 
time  were  at  bandy  or  other  games,  George  was 
behind  a  door  cyphering.  But  one  day  he  aston 
ished  the  school  by  romping  with  one  of  the  large 
girls  —  a  thing  so  unusual  that  it  excited  no  little 
comment  among  the  other  lads." 

Through  the  Willis  family  Mary  Washington's 
descendants  became  allied  to  the  Bonapartes.  The 
second  child  of  Byrd  C.  Willis  (son  of  Lewis  Willis) 
was  Catherine.  Her  mother  was  the  daughter  of 
George  Lewis,  Betty  Washington's  son.  Thus 
Mary  Washington  was  ancestress  of  Catherine 
Willis,  who  at  thirteen  years  of  age  married,  and  at 
fourteen  was  a  widow,  having  lost  also  her  child. 
She  accompanied  her  parents  to  Pensacola,  where 
she  married  Achille  Murat,  ex-prince  of  Naples  and 
nephew  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  She  was  very 
beautiful  —  this  child  —  twice  married  and  a  mother 
before  she  was  fifteen. 


140    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

The  Murat  and  Bonaparte  families  at  first  opposed 
the  marriage,  but  all  opposition  vanished  when  they 
learned  that  she  was  nearly  related  to  General 
Washington. 

It  is  said  that  she  was  well  received  abroad :  "  In 
London  she  stood  up  for  her  country  and  fought 


its  battles  in  all  companies."  She  was  once  accom 
panied  by  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  and  other 
distinguished  personages  on  a  visit  to  the  London 
art  galleries.  In  one  of  these  the  portraits  of 
Washington  and  Napoleon  hung  side  by  side,  and 
Randolph  (who  was  always  dramatic),  pointing  to 


In  and  Around  Fredericksburg  141 

the  pictures,  said,  "  Before  us  we  have  Napoleon 
and  Washington,  one  the  founder  of  a  mighty  Em 
pire,  the  other  of  a  great  Republic."  Then  turning 
to  Catherine  with  extended  hand,  "  Behold  !  "  he 
exclaimed,  "  in  the  Princess  Murat  the  niece  of 
both  —  a  distinction  which  she  alone  can  claim." 

As  the  century  neared  its  highest  noon  Fred 
ericksburg  became  the  home  of  one  and  another 
of  the  men  destined  to  earn  immortal  fame  in  the 
Revolution.  James  Monroe  lived  there,  whose 
hand,  long  since  mingled  with  the  dust,  has  yet  the 
power  to  stay  the  advance  of  nations.  Men  of 
wealth  secured  the  pleasant  society  all  around  by  a 
residence  in  the  town.  As  many  as  ten  coaches 
were  wont  to  drive  out  in  company  when  the  sum 
mer  exodus  to  the  springs  set  in. 

There  was  a  famous  tailor  in  Fredericksburg  who 
made  the  lace-trimmed  garments  for  these  gentry, — 
William  Paul,  a  Scotchman.  Hanging  in  his  shop, 
was  a  handsome  portrait  of  "my  sailor  brother 
John"  as  he  explained  to  his  customers.  Anon  the 
tailor  died,  and  John  came  over  to  administer  upon 
his  estate.  He  found  friends  —  Colonel  Willy  Jones 
and  Doctor  Brooke  —  who  aided  him  materially 
in  the  first  years  of  his  life  in  Fredericksburg.  In 
gratitude  to  the  former  he  assumed  the  name  of 
"  Jones,"  and  the  latter  he  made  surgeon  of  the 
Bon  Homme  Richard — for  this  was  John  Paul  Jones 
the  great,  the  brilliant  naval  officer  of  our  Revolu- 


142     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

tion.  Congress  gave  him  a  commission  and  a  ship, 
The  Alfred,  and  on  board  that  ship  he  hoisted  before 
Philadelphia,  with  his  own  hands,  the  flag  of  free 
dom —  the  first  time  it  was  displayed.  He  claimed 
and  received  the  first  salute  the  flag  of  the  infant 
Republic  received  from  a  foreign  power.  He  served 
through  the  war,  and  at  his  death  was  the  senior 
officer  of  the  United  States  navy. 


CHAPTER    XIX 

SOCIAL    CHARACTERISTICS,    MANNERS,   AND    CUSTOMS 

THE  essential  principles  in  the  drama  of 
human  life  are  ever  the  same  although  its 
outward  aspect  changes  with  changing 
circumstances.  But  in  some  ages  events  develop 
more  rapidly  than  in  others  under  the  urgency  of 
peculiar  conditions. 

In  colonial  Virginia  the  story  was  told  over  and 
over  again  before  the  final  fall  of  the  curtain.  Scenes 
shifted  with  wonderful  rapidity.  The  curtain,  in 
mimic  drama,  is  usually  rung  down  at  the  church 
door  after  the  early  or  late  wooing  and  marriage ; 
but  in  Virginia  in  the  eighteenth  century  this  was 
only  the  first  in  a  drama  of  five  or  more  acts.  The 
early  death  of  the  first  bride  left  a  vacancy  speedily 
filled  by  new  and  successive  unions  with  new  associa 
tions  and  combinations.  Five  times  was  not  an 
unusual  number  for  men  to  remarry. 

This  meant  five  wooings,  five  weddings,  five 
"  infairs,"  many  births  (varying  in  number  from  one 
to  twenty-six),  five  funerals,  —  all  to  be  included  in 
thirty  adult  years  more  or  less.  Then,  too,  there 
were  five  tombstones  to  be  erected  and  as  many 

143 


144    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

epitaphs  to  be  composed — no  two  of  which  to  be 
alike.  One  wife  (usually  the  first)  almost  exhausts 
the  vocabulary  of  adoring  affection,  another's  piety 
is  emphasized,  another  "  lived  peacably  with  her 
neighbors " ;  each  one  was  "  as  a  wife  dutiful." 
"Obedient"  was  a  word  dear  to  the  colonial 
husband. 

We  have  no  authority  for  supposing  that  the 
officiating  clergyman  at  a  funeral  was  ever  actually 
retained  for  the  ensuing  nuptials  of  the  bereaved. 
Initial  steps  in  that  direction  were  never  taken  in 
Virginia  until  a  husband  or  wife  was  well  under  the 
sod.  Divorce  being  unknown,  unthinkable  indeed, 
husbands  and  wives  were  united  in  bonds  indisso 
luble,  until  death  did  them  part.  But  when  it  did  — 
why,  then  there  was  no  reasonable  cause  for  delay. 
It  was  not  at  all  unusual  for  the  new  husband  to 
offer  for  probate  the  will  of  his  predecessor.  Man 
in  those  days  did  not  believe  he  was  made  to  mourn, 
at  least  not  for  maid  or  matron,  nor  that  charming 
women  were  created  to  weep  in  widow's  weeds  beyond 
the  decent  period  of  two  months.  The  little  hands 
were  firmly  drawn  from  their  pressure  upon  the 
tearful  eyes,  tucked  comfortably  under  a  new,  strong 
arm,  and  the  widow's  little  baronry  stitched  to  a  new 
sleeve.  There  were  exceptions,  of  course,  but  not 
many.  When  one  of  the  husbands  of  Mary  Wash 
ington's  charming  nieces  (the  Gregory  girls)  lay 
mortally  ill,  he  looked  up  with  anguish  at  the  lovely 


Social  Characteristics  and  Customs  145 

young  wife  bending  over  him,  and  implored  her  to 
keep  herself  for  him.  She  readily  promised  never 
again  to  marry,  and  kept  her  promise.  Another, 
left  a  widow,  essayed  to  follow  the  sublime  example 
of  her  sister.  One  of  the  masterful  Thorntons  sued 
for  twenty  years,  but  won  at  last.  The  statute  of 
limitations  in  Cupid's  court  held  for  twenty  years 
only  in  colonial  Virginia. 

Writers  of  the  period  explain  these  multiplied 
marriages  by  the  necessity  of  a  protector  for  every 
woman  owning  land  to  be  cultivated  by  negro 
slaves  and  indented  servants,  and  on  the  other 
hand  the  woful  state  of  a  large  family  of  young 
children  left  motherless  at  the  mercy  of  those  ser 
vants.  The  new  master  and  the  new  mother  be 
came  a  necessity. 

It  sometimes  happened  that  the  newly  contract 
ing  parties  had  already  many  children  from  the 
three  or  four  previous  marriages.  These  must  now 
be  brought  under  one  sheltering  roof.  The  little 
army  must  be  restrained  by  strict  government ; 
hence  the  necessity  for  the  stern  parental  discipline 
of  colonial  times.  "  It  is  gratifying,  my  dear,"  said 
an  amiable  patriarch,  "  to  find  that  your  children,  my 
children,  and  our  children  can  live  so  peacefully 
together,"  nobody  knowing  so  well  as  the  patriarch 
and  the  children  at  what  price  the  peace  had  been 
purchased. 

Thus  it  can  be  easily  seen  how  maddening  an 
L 


146     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

enterprise  is  the  attempt  to  trace  Virginia  relation 
ships,  and  how  we  so  often  lose  a  woman  and  give 
her  over  as  dead  to  find  her  resurrected  under  a 
new  name.  We  once  lost  Mary  Washington's 
sister  Hannah  (Ball)  Travers.  She  turned  up  at 
last  as  Mrs.  Pearson  !  To  sort  and  label  and 
classify  Virginia  cousins  means  nervous  prostra 
tion.  In  the  families  of  Thornton,  Carter,  and  their 
kin,  it  means  more  !  Madness  lies  that  way  ! 

The  spinster  of  uncertain  age,  known  irreverently 
as  an  "  old  maid,"  was  a  rare  individual  in  colonial 
Virginia.  We  all  know  Colonel  Byrd's  "  Miss 
Thekky,  mourning  her  virginity."  We  really  can 
not  name  another. 

When  a  good  man,  addressing  himself  to  the 
compilation  of  family  records  for  his  children,  was 
constrained  to  admit  that  one  was  unmarried,  he 
made  haste  to  declare  that  she  "  lived  single  by  her 
own  choice."  Colonel  Byrd  Willis  says  of  his 
daughter  Mary,  "She  is  unmarried  —  but  by  her 
own  choice.  It  will  be  a  fine  fellow  who  can  tempt 
her  to  leave  her  home.  She  has  not  seen  him  yet !  " 
He  goes  on  to  enumerate  her  social  triumphs. 
There  had  been  a  "  Bouquet  Ball,"  of  which  a 
certain  commodore  was  made  king.  He  chose 
Miss  Mary  Willis,  and  bestowed  upon  her  the 
bouquet.  A  foot-note  informs  us  that  she  isn't 
single  any  more !  She  has  married  the  commo 
dore  ! 


Social  Characteristics  and  Customs          147 

Stern  as  was  the  parental  discipline  of  the  time, 
the  spirit  of  the  young  men,  who  were  accounted 


Colonel  Byrd. 


grown    and    marriageable    at    nineteen,   was    in    no 
wise  broken  or  quenched.      Many  of  them  ran  away 


148     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

from  their  masters  at  the  schools  in  England  and 
Scotland,  and  their  fathers'  agents  had  much  ado 
to  find  and  capture  them  again.  The  sons  of  John 
Spotswood  were  lost  in  England  for  many  months, 
but  were  back  home  again  in  time  to  be  gallant 
officers  in  the  Revolution.  And  even  the  conserv 
ative  blood  of  the  Washingtons  was  not  strong 
enough  to  temper  that  of  the  Willises,  for  Mildred 
Washington's  grandson  "Jack"  Willis  ran  away 
from  school  and  joined  a  party  to  explore  the 
wilderness  of  Kentucky.  They  were  attacked  by 
Indians,  and  were  scattered;  Jack  escaped  in  a 
canoe,  and  was  the  first  white  man  to  descend  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers.  His  father  had  sewed 
some  doubloons  in  his  jacket,  but  he  gave  them  to 
a  man  in  New  Orleans  to  purchase  clothing  and 
food,  and  never  again  beheld  his  agent  or  the 
doubloons  or  their  equivalent.  He  worked  his 
way  in  a  sailing  vessel  to  New  York,  and  walked 
from  New  York  to  his  home  in  Virginia,  arriv 
ing,  like  the  Spotswood  boys,  just  in  time  to  enter 
the  army  with  his  father  and  serve  to  its  close. 
He  was  a  son  of  Lewis  Willis,  Washington's  school 
mate. 

About  1740  the  importation  of  horses  of  the 
English  racing  stock  commenced,  also  the  breeding 
of  horses  for  racing.  Between  1740  and  1775  are 
recorded  the  names  of  fifty  imported  horses  and 
thirty  mares  of  note  :  Aristotle,  Babraham,  Bolton, 


Social  Characteristics  and  Customs          149 

Childers,  Dabster,  Dottrell,  Dimple,  Fearnaught, 
Jolly  Roger,  Juniper,  Justice,  Merry  Tom,  Sober 
John,  Vampire,  Whittington,  Janus,  Sterling,  Val 
iant,  etc.  Owners  of  these  horses  among  Mary 
Washington's  neighbors  were  Roger  Gregory,  Colo 
nel  John  Mercer  of  "  Marlboro,"  Mr.  Spotswood, 
William  Fitzhugh  of  "  Chatham,"  all  the  Thorntons, 
and  later  Colonel  George  Washington  of  Mount  Ver- 
non,  who  was  a  steward  of  the  Alexandria  Jockey 
Club  and  ran  his  own  horses  there  and  at  Annapolis  ! 
There  was  a  fine  race-course  at  Fredericksburg,  and 
purses  were  won  from  ten  to  a  hundred  pounds. 
This,  the  prime  amusement  in  spring,  summer,  and 
autumn,  was  varied  (alas!)  by  cock-fights,  wrestling- 
matches,  and  rough  games,  in  which  the  common 
people,  as  in  England,  participated,  while  the  gentry 
looked  on  and  awarded  prizes.  But  in  the  long 
winter  evenings,  neighbors  gathered  for  Christmas 
and  other  house-parties,  indulged  in  the  gentle  art 
of  story-telling.  Later,  old  Fredericksburg  boasted 
a  notable,  peerless  raconteur,  John  Minor,  but  his 
stories  were  built  upon  Virginia's  legends ;  his 
home,  "  Hazel  Hill,"  was  the  rendezvous  of  all  the 
neighbors,  young  and  old,  in  quest  of  sympathy 
or  counsel,  or  advice  in  the  honorable  settlement  of 
quarrels,  or  for  a  season  of  genial  companionship. 
Around  the  fireside  at  "  Hazel  Hill  "  the  children 
would  gather  for  their  own  story-telling  hour  "  be 
tween  daylight  and  dark,"  and  there  the  immortal 


150    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"  B'rer  Rabbit  "  appears,  but  not  for  the  first  time,  in 
the  annals  of  colonial  history,  and  her  Serene  High 
ness,  the  "  Tar  Baby,''  held  her  nightly  court. 

Around  the  winter  fireside  in  the  old  colonial 
houses,  the  children,  and  their  seniors  as  well, 
learned  the  folk-lore  of  their  native  colony,  for,  young 
as  was  the  new  country,  Virginia  had  already  her 
legends  :  the  mystic  light  on  the  lake  in  the  Dismal 
Swamp,  where  the  lost  lovers  paddled  their  ghostly 
canoe;  the  footprints  of  the  Great  Spirit  on  the 
rocks  near  Richmond;  the  story  of  Maiden's  Ad 
venture  on  the  James  River ;  the  story  of  the 
Haunted  House — the  untenanted  mansion  at  Church 
Hill  —  untenanted  for  eight  decades  because  the 
unhappy  spirit  of  a  maiden  tapped  with  her  fan  on 
the  doors  where  wedded  couples  slept,  invoking 
curses  upon  love  that  had  failed  her ;  of  sweet 
Evelyn  Byrd,  who  rested  not  under  her  monument 
at  Westover,  but  glided  among  the  roses,  wringing 
her  hands  in  hopeless  grief  for  the  loss  of  a  mortal's 
love ;  and  of  the  legend  of  the  wonderful  curative 
spring  just  discovered  in  Greenbrier  County  (learned 
from  an  old  Indian  of  the  tribe  of  the  Shawnees)  — 
how  one  of  the  great  braves  had  once  been  missed 
from  the  council-fires  and  been  found  in  a  valley, 
weak  and  supine,  binding  the  brows  of  an  Indian 
maid  with  ferns  and  flowers  ;  how  two  arrows  had 
sped  by  order  of  the  Great  Spirit,  one  destined  for  the 
man,  one  for  the  maid;  how  the  recreant  warrior  had 


Social  Characteristics  and  Customs          151 

been  slain  by  the  one,  but  the  other  arrow  had  buried 
itself  in  the  earth  and  when  withdrawn  a  great,  white 
sulphur  spring  had  gushed  forth  ;  how  the  maiden 
was  doomed  to  wander  as  long  as  the  stream  flowed, 
and  not  until  it  ceased  could  her  spirit  be  reunited 
to  that  of  her  lover  in  the  happy  hunting-grounds  ; 
also  how  the  body  of  the  slain  warrior  was  laid 
towards  the  setting  sun,  and  the  form  of  the  sleep 
ing  giant  might  be  clearly  discerned  despite  the  trees 
that  grew  over  it. 

And  one  more  Indian  legend  is  so  charming  that 
we  may  be  forgiven  for  perpetuating  it  on  these 
pages,  remembering  that  these  are  genuine  Indian 
legends  which  have  never  before  been  printed.  This 
last  was  the  story  of  the  Mocking-bird.  How  once 
long  ago  there  were  no  wars  or  fightings,  or  toma 
hawks  or  scalpings  among  the  Indians.  They  were 
at  perfect  peace  under  the  smile  of  the  Great  Spirit. 
And  in  this  beautiful  time  those  who  watched  at 
night  could  hear  a  strange,  sweet  song  sweeping  over 
the  hills  and  filling  the  valleys,  now  swelling,  now 
dying  away  to  come  again.  This  was  the  music  of 
all  things  ;  moon,  stars,  tides,  and  winds,  moving 
in  harmony.  But  at  last  Okee,  the  Evil  One,  stirred 
the  heart  of  the  red  man  against  his  brother,  and 
the  nations  arrayed  themselves  in  battle.  From  that 
moment  the  song  was  heard  no  more.  The  Great 
Spirit,  Kiwassa,  knew  that  his  children  bemoaned 
their  loss,  and  he  promised  them  the  song  should 


152     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

not  be  lost  forever.  It  would  be  found  some  day 
by  some  brave  —  loftier,  better,  stronger,  than  all 
others. 

It  fell  at  last  that  a  chieftain  loved  the  daughter 
of  a  hostile  chief.  Both  were  captured  and  burned 
at  the  stake.  Both  died  bravely,  each  comforting 
the  other.  After  death  the  chief,  because  he  had 
been  so  brave,  was  given  the  body  of  a  bird,  and 
sent  in  quest  of  the  Lost  Song.  Whence  found  it, 
and  only  then,  could  all  be  forgiven  and  the  spirits 
of  the  lovers  be  reunited  in  the  happy  hunting- 
grounds.  Since  then  the  bird  has  travelled  north, 
south,  east,  west,  and  wherever  it  goes  it  learns  the 
songs  of  all  creatures,  learns  and  repeats  them. 
But  the  hatchet  is  not  yet  buried ;  the  Lost  Song 
not  yet  found.  Imagination  can  supply  few  pictures 
fairer  than  this  :  firelight  playing  on  the  attentive 
faces  of  old  cavaliers  and  matrons,  young  men  and 
lovely  maidens,  the  centre  their  accomplished  host, 
"  the  pink  of  a  chivalric  gentleman,"  gallant,  cultured, 
refined,  and  at  his  knees,  in  his  arms,  and  seated  on 
his  shoulders,  happy  children,  not  only  those  of  his 
house-party,  but  others  among  his  neighbors  who 
dropped  in  especially  for  the  children's  hour. 

It  is  evident  that  Mary  Washington's  social  life 
must  have  been  an  active  one.  At  the  weddings 
and  the  christenings  of  her  large  circle  of  neighbors 
and  kindred  she  was  certainly  present.  But  I  doubt 
whether  she  ever  attended  the  races,  "  Fish  Frys, 


Social  Characteristics  and  Customs          153 

and  Barbecues,"  of  which  her  neighbors  were  so 
fond.  Not  that  she  ventured  to  express  disapproval 
of  things  with  which  the  clergy  found  no  fault,  but 
she  was  a  strict  economist  of  time,  never  wasting  it 
on  trifles.  She  kept  her  own  accounts,  managed  her 
own  plantation,  and  kept  a  stern  watch  on  the  over 
seers  of  her  son's  estates. 

To  do  this,  and  at  the  same  time  fill  her  place  in 
her  large  circle  of  friends,  whose  relations  with  her 
warranted  their  coming  at  will  for  long  visits,  re 
quired  all  the  method  and  management  of  which 
she  was  capable. 

Besides  the  householders,  with  their  sons  and 
daughters,  who  regularly  exchanged  visits  with  each 
other  at  least  once  or  twice  annually,  Virginia  had 
also  her  class  of  impecunious  bachelors,  whose  prac 
tice  was  to  visit  from  house  to  house,  taking  in  all 
the  well-to-do  families.  Until  the  Revolution  — 
when  they  had  something  else  to  do  —  they  repre 
sented  the  class  of  hangers-on  to  wealth,  known 
to-day  as  "  the  little  brothers  of  the  rich,"  —  very 
nice,  adaptable,  agreeable  gentlemen,  whom  every 
body  likes,  and  to  whom  society  is  willing  to  give 
much,  exacting  little  in  return.  In  pre-Revolution- 
ary  Virginia,  however,  they  could  and  did  give  some 
thing.  They  gathered  the  news  from  house  to 
house,  brought  letters  and  the  northern  papers ; 
were  intelligent  couriers,  in  short,  who  kept  the 
planter  well-advised  of  all  political  rumors.  They 


154    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

possessed  certain  social  accomplishments,  could 
carve  fairy  baskets  out  of  cherry  stones,  cut  pro 
file  portraits  to  be  laid  on  a  black  background,  and 
make  and  mend  pens  to  perfection.  "  When  I  was 
in  Stafford  County  a  month  ago,'*  says  the  tutor  at 
"  Nomini  Hall,"  "  I  met1  Captain  John  Lee,  a  Gentle 
man  who  seems  to  copy  the  character  of  Addison's 
Will  Wimble.  He  was  then  just  sallying  out  on 
his  Winter's  Visits,  and  has  got  now  so  far  as  here ; 
he  stays,  as  I  am  told,  about  eight  or  ten  weeks  in 
the  yeare  at  his  own  House,  the  remaining  part  he 
lives  with  his  Waiting  Man  on  his  Friends."  Cap 
tain  Lee,  by  the  way,  is  further  recorded  as  "a 
distant  cousin  of  the  Lees  of  Westmoreland." 

In  making  these  visits  to  the  large  country  houses, 
young  people  would  naturally  confer  together  and 
manage  to  meet  those  they  knew  best  and  liked 
best.  Thus  it  would  sometimes  happen  (and  who  so 
willing  as  the  hosts  ?)  that  a  large  house-party  would 
assemble  unheralded,  and  the  house  be  filled  with  a 
merry  company.  "  The  usual  retinue,"  says  General 
Maury,  "  at  my  wife's  home  was  fifteen  or  more  well- 
trained  servants  when  the  house  was  full  of  company  ; 
and  as  many  as  thirty  or  more  of  the  family  and 
friends  daily  dined  there  together  for  weeks  and 
months  at  a  time."  This  was  at  Cleveland,  near 
Fredericksburg ;  and  hospitality  quite  as  generous 
ruled  all  the  homes  in  Mary  Washington's  neighbor 
hood. 

1  Fithian's  Diary. 


Social  Characteristics  and  Customs          155 

It  sometimes  happened  that  the  capacity  of  the 
elastic  house  reached  its  limit.  On  one  such  rare  occa 
sion  a  belated  Presbyterian  minister  alighted  at  the 
front  gate  and  walked  in  with  his  baggage,  —  a  pair  of 
well-worn  saddle-bags.  He  was  warmly  welcomed, 
of  course,  but  the  lady  of  the  manor  was  in  despair. 
Where  could  he  sleep?  Every  corner  was  full. 
One  couldn't  ask  a  clergyman  to  spend  the  night 
on  a  settee  in  the  passageway,  nor  lie  upon  a  "  pal 
let  "  of  quilts  on  the  parlor  floor.  The  children 
heard  the  troubled  consultation  as  to  ways  and 
means  with  their  "  Mammy,"  and  were  full  of  sym 
pathy  for  the  homeless,  unsheltered  guest.  The 
situation  was  still  serious  when  the  household  was 
summoned  to  family  prayers.  The  clergyman  —  a 
gaunt  specimen  with  a  beaklike  nose  and  mournful 
voice  —  launched  into  the  one  hundred  and  second 
Psalm,  pouring  out,  as  the  pitying  children  thought, 
his  own  soul  in  its  homeless  desolation.  When  he 
reached  the  words,  "  I  am  like  a  pelican  in  the  wil 
derness  :  I  am  like  an  owl  in  the  desert :  I  am  as  a 
sparrow  alone  upon  the  hpusetop,"  the  exultant 
voice  of  the  youngest  little  girl  rang  out,  "  Mamma, 
he  can  roost  on  the  tester  /"  One  cannot  wonder  at 
this  advice  from  a  hospitable  man  who  had  been 
literally  "eaten  out  of  house  and  home,"  "  I  advise 
my  son  to  keep  out  of  other  people's  houses,  and 
keep  other  people  out  of  his  own." 

One  can  hardly  imagine  the  care  and  labor  in- 


156     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

volved  in  so  much  entertaining.  Nobody  ever 
passed  a  house  without  calling ;  nobody  ever  left  it 
without  refreshment  for  man  and  beast.  Horses 
and  servants  attended  every  visitor. 

Think  of  the  quantity  of  food  to  be  provided ! 
And  yet,  a  housewife's  batterie  de  cuisine  was  of  the 
simplest.  The  kitchen  fireplace  held  the  iron  pot 


The  Kitchen  of  Mount  Vernon. 

for  boiling  the  indispensable  and  much-respected 
gammon  of  bacon  (Virginia  ham),  and  there  were 
lidded  ovens,  large  and  small,  standing  high  on  four 
feet,  that  coals  might  burn  brightly  beneath  them. 
There  was  a  "  skillet,"  with  its  ever  ascending  in 
cense  from  frying  chickens  and  batter-cakes,  —  a 
long-handled  utensil  with  no  feet  at  all,  but  rest 
ing  upon  the  portable,  triangular  "trevet,"  —  which, 


Social  Characteristics  and  Customs          157 

being  light,  could  be  thrust  into  the  very  heart  of 
the  fire  or  drawn  out  on  the  fire-proof  dirt  floor. 
There  was  a  "  hoe,"  known  as  a  cooking  utensil 
only  in  Virginia,  slanting  before  the  coals  for  the 
thin  hoe-cake  of  Indian  meal.  In  front  stood  the 
glory  and  pride  of  the  kitchen,  —  the  spit,  like  two 
tall  andirons  with  deeply  serrated  sides,  on  which 
iron  rods  holding  flesh  and  fowl  could  rest  and  be 
turned  to  roast  equally.  An  ample  pan  beneath 
caught  the  basting-butter  and  juices  of  the  meat. 
This  spit  held  an  exposed  position,  and  has  been 
known  to  be  robbed  now  and  then  by  some  unman 
nerly  hound,  or  wandering  Caleb  Balderstone,  un 
able  to  resist  such  temptations.  What  would  the 
modern  queen  of  the  kitchen  think  of  "  a  situation  " 
involving  such  trials,  —  her  own  wood  often  to  be 
brought  by  herself,  her  breakfast,  including  four  or 
five  kinds  of  bread  (waffles,  biscuit  thick  and 
thin,  batter-cakes,  loaf  bread),  her  poultry  to  be 
killed  and  plucked  by  herself,  her  coffee  to  be 
roasted,  fish  scaled  and  cleaned,  meats  cut  from 
a  carcass  and  trimmed,  to  say  nothing  of  cakes, 
puddings,  and  pies  ?  And  all  this  to  be  done  for  a 
perennial  house-party,  with  its  footmen  and  maids  ! 
True,  the  negro  cook  of  colonial  times  had  many 
"  kitchen-maids,"  —  her  own  children.  But  even 
with  these  her  achievements  were  almost  super 
natural.  With  her  half-dozen  utensils  she  served 
a  dinner  that  deserved  —  and  has  —  immortality! 


158     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"  Old  Phyllis,"  the  cook  at  "Blenheim,"  "  Mammy 
Lucy  "  at  Cleveland,  and  many  others  have  a  high 
place  in  an  old  Virginian's  Hall  of  Fame,  —  his 
heart ! 

There  was  no  lack  of  service  in  Mary  Wash 
ington's  day.  The  negro  was  docile,  affectionate, 
and  quick  to  learn,  at  least  these  were  the  char 
acteristics  of  those  employed  in  households.  But 
even  as  late  as  in  Mary  Ball's  girlhood  the  ne 
groes  had  no  language  intelligible  to  their  em 
ployers.  One  of  the  Lancaster  clergymen,  Mr. 
Bell,  writes  that  his  congregation  includes  many 
"  negroes,  who  cannot  understand  my  language  nor 
I  theirs."  There  is  something  infinitely  pathetic  in 
this  picture  of  the  homeless  savage  in  a  strange  land. 
The  African,  rinding  himself  not  understood,  made 
haste  to  acquire  the  language  spoken  to  him.  His 
intimate  association  was  with  the  indented  white  men 
who  labored  with  him,  and  he  then  and  there  created  a 
language  distinctively  known  as  his  own,  to  which 
he  still  clings  and  which  contains,  I  believe,  no  word 
that  can  be  traced  to  African  origin  —  at  least  this  is 
true  of  the  Virginia  negro's  dialect.  cc  It  appears  that 
the  indented  servants  from  whom  he  learned  must 
have  come  from  Warwickshire.  The  negro  dialect 
can  be  found  in  Shakespeare;1  for  instance,  £  trash,' 
afterwards  accentuated  by  cpo'  white  trash.'  c  What 
trash  is  Rome,  what  rubbish,  what  offal,'  says 

1  "  Warwickshire  Dialect,"  by  Mr.  Appleton  Morgan. 


Social  Characteristics  and  Customs          159 

Cassius.  '  They  are  trash,'  says  lago,  etc.  '  Ter 
rify/  for  '  aggravate '  or  '  destroy,'  is  Warwick 
shire  ;  also  '  his'n,'  c  her'n,'  for  '  his  '  and  '  hers  ' ; 
c  howsomdever,'  for  'however'  (Venus  and  Adonis] ; 
'  gawm,'  for  '  soiling  hands  or  face ' ;  '  yarbs,'  for 
'  herbs  ' ;  '  make,'  for  '  kindle  '  (make  the  fire) ; 
Mike,'  for  'likely'  (I  was  like  to  fall);  c  peart,'  for 
'  lively  ' ;  '  traipsing,'  for  'walking  idly  about '  ; 
c  ooman,'  for  '  woman  ' ;  '  sallit,'  for  'green  stuff' ; 
'  yourn,'  for  "  yours/  These  and  many  more  negro 
words  are  taken  from  Warwickshire  dialect,  and 
are  to  be  found  in  Shakespeare."  Upon  this  root 
the  negro  grafted,  without  regard  to  its  meaning, 
any  and  every  high-sounding  word  which  he 
happened  to  hear,  and  which  seemed  to  him 
magnificent.  The  meaning  signified  so  little  that 
he  never  deemed  it  necessary  to  ask  it.  The  result 
was,  to  say  the  least,  picturesque. 

The  church  being  his  earliest  school,  he  was  soon 
impressed  by  the  names  of  certain  of  the  Hebrew 
Patriarchs,  and  the  first  names  with  which  he  en 
dowed  his  children  were  Aaron,  Moses,  Abraham, 
Isaac,  Jacob,  and  Isaiah.  Why  he  scorned  Jeremiah, 
Nahum,  Ezekiel,  and  others,  is  best  known  to  him 
self.  Later,  he  caught  from  the  companionship  of 
the  schoolboys  the  names  of  the  heroes  of  antiquity, 
giving  decided  preference  to  Pompey  and  Caesar. 
There  was  a  Josephus  in  a  Fredericksburg  family, 
differentiated  in  the  next  generation  by  Jimsephus. 


160     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Later  still  his  fancy  was  caught  by  the  shining  lights 
of  the  Revolution.  A  goodly  crop  followed  of 
Washingtons,  Jeffersons,  and  Randolphs.  There 
was  even  a  Rochambeau,  unhappily  corrupted  into 
"  Rushingbow." 

While  the  queen  of  the  nursery  was  an  ebony 
incarnation  of  faithful  love,  tenderness,  and  patience, 
she  never  surrendered  her  sceptre  until  her  charges 
were  actually  married.  She  never  condescended  to 
be  taught  by  those  to  whom  she  had  herself  been 
teacher.  "  Mammy,"  exclaimed  a  little  Fredericks- 
burg  maiden  of  ten,  "  what  do  you  think  ?  I  have 
found  an  ungrammatical  error  in  the  Bible."  "  Kill 
him,  honey  !  Kill  him  quick  !  He'll  eat  up  the 
pretty  book-mark  !  "  exclaimed  the  old  nurse,  too 
proud  to  acknowledge  her  ignorance  of  the  beautiful 
new  word. 

"  Po'  white  trash "  was  a  term  applied  to  all 
householders  who  could  not  afford  style  in  living 
and  equipage,  notably  to  those  (and  they  were  few) 
who  owned  no  slaves.  There  was  no  squalor,  no 
pauperism  in  Virginia  in  1740  and  later.  Even 
indented  servants  prospered  sufficiently  after  a  few 
years  to  send  to  England  for  servants  of  their  own. 
The  convict  labor  of  Virginia  was  mainly  employed 
in  the  fields  and  on  the  boats  ;  and  it  is  recorded 
that  these  convicts  were  short-lived,  the  hot  sun 
giving  them  always  a  "seasoning  fever"  which  often 
proved  fatal.  Of  course  political  convicts  were  of  a 


Social  Characteristics  and  Customs          161 

different  class,  and  when  found  to  have  been  educated 
were  employed  as  teachers. 

Entirely  distinct  from  these  was  the  class  who 
were  entitled  to  write  "  Gent "  after  their  names,  as 
their  English  fathers  had  done.  "  The  term  c  Gen 
tleman,'  "  says  Mr.  Lyon  Tyler,  "  assumed  a  very 
general  meaning  in  the  succeeding  century,  but  its 
signification  at  this  time  was  perhaps  what  Sir  Ed 
ward  Coke  ascribed  to  it,  qui  gerit  armay  one  who 
bears  arms." 

It  was  not  the  custom  then  as  now  to  address  a 
man  without  some  prefix.  He  was  "  Squire  "  if  he 
was  a  member  of  the  King's  Council ;  "  Gent  "  if  he 
bore  arms,  otherwise  "  Mr.  "  ;  and  if  in  humble  life, 
"Goodman."  Womenof  any  degree  were  "  Mistress" 
—  Mistress  Evelyn  Byrd,  Mistress  Mary  Stagg ;  in 
middle  class,  "  Dame  "  ;  of  gentle  blood,  "  Madam  " 
and  "  Lady."  In  the  Virginia  Gazette  "  Lady  Wash 
ington's  "  comings  and  goings  are  duly  chronicled. 
Even  now  the  Virginian  loves  to  endow  his  fellows 
with  a  title,  and  risks  "  Colonel "  in  default  of  a 
better. 

The  Virginia  woman,  at  the  period  of  which  we 
write,  felt  keenly  the  disadvantage  of  her  remoteness 
from  that  centre  of  knowledge  and  courtly  usage,  the 
mother  country.  Men  who  were  educated  abroad 
began  to  accumulate  books  for  ambitious  libraries, 
but  these  books  were  largely  in  the  Latin  tongue, 
and  the  Virginia  girl  had  not  the  courage  of  Queen 


1 62    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Elizabeth,  and  did  not  address  herself  to  the  study 
of  the  Classics  that  she  might  "  match  the  men."  She 
had  good,  strong  sense,  and  the  faculty  known  as 
mother-wit,  but  I  am  afraid  I  must  confess  she  had 
small  learning.  What  time  had  she  —  married  at 
fifteen  —  to  read  or  study  ?  As  to  Mary  Wash 
ington,  her  library,  for  ought  we  know  to  the  con 
trary,  seems  to  have  begun  and  ended  with  "  Sir 
Matthew  Hale."  In  1736  Mr.  Parks  published  his 
Virginia  Gazette  for  fifteen  shillings  a  year.  Bev- 
erley  &  Stith  had  published  their  "  Histories,"  and 
William  Byrd  his  "  Pamphlets."  These  she  may 
have  read ;  but  it  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  she 
read  the  poems  and  other  society  doings,  records 
of  races  and  other  happenings,  which  appeared 
weekly  in  the  Gazette,  or  approved  of 'seeing  the 
names,  qualities,  and  fortunes  of  the  ladies  recorded 
as  frankly  as  at  the  present  day. 

These  ladies  were  the  daughters,  sisters,  and  wives 
of  men  of  brilliant  genius  and  attainments.  They 
could  hardly  sustain  such  relations  with  such  men 
without  becoming  themselves  superior  women.  Dr. 
Archibald  Alexander  knew  Mrs.  Meredith,  the 
sister  of  Patrick  Henry.  "  She  was,  in  my  judg 
ment,  as  eloquent  as  her  brother ;  nor  have  I  ever 
met  with  a  lady  who  equalled  her  in  powers  of 
conversation." 

Something  then  was  said  of  a  woman  besides  what 
she  wore,  whither  she  went,  and  whom  she  entertained 


Social  Characteristics  and  Customs          163 

at  dinner  and  tea.  There  were  women  of  whom  the 
Gazette  kindly  said  they  possessed  "  amiable  sweet 
ness  of  disposition,  joined  with  the  finest  intellectual 
attainments,"  but  I  am  constrained  to  challenge  the 
latter  if  it  presupposes  the  attainments  to  have  been 
literary.  How  could  it  be  otherwise  when  Thomas 
Jefferson  prescribed  that  his  daughter's  time  should 
be  divided  between  dancing,  music,  and  French  ? 
And  when  Charles  Carter,  of  "  Cleve,"  after  ordering 
that  his  sons,  John  and  Landon,  then  in  England, 
should  master  languages,  mathematics,  philosophy, 
dancing,  fencing,  law,  adds,  "  And  whereas  the  ex 
travagance  of  the  present  age,  and  the  flattering 
hopes  of  great  Fortunes  may  be  a  temptation  to 
run  into  unnecessary  Expenses  of  Living,  it  is  my 
positive  Will  and  desire  that  my  Daughters  may 
be  maintained  with  great  frugality,  and  taught  to 
dance." 

The  young  women  whose  brothers  had  tutors 
at  home  were  fortunate.  They  learned  to  "  read 
and  write  and  cypher."  Then  there  were  men 

"  Glad  to  turn  itinerant 

to  stroll  and  teach  from  town  to  town  " 

and  from  plantation  to  plantation.  From  these  the 
young  ladies  had  their  music  and  dancing  lessons. 
Their  letters  are  very  stilted  and  polite,  —  poor 
dears,  —  but  "intellectual  attainments"  do  not  ap 
pear  in  many  of  them.  They  usually  end  with 


164    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

laying  upon  a  bad  pen  all  the  blame  for  all  short 
comings.  "  Excuse  bad  spelling  and  writing,  for 
I  have  ane  ill  pen,"  said  Jeanie  Deans.  The 
colonial  ladies  made  no  apology  for  their  pho 
netic  spelling.  Was  not  that  all  right  ?  If 
"  hir "  did  not  spell  "  her,"  pray,  what  did  it 
spell  ?  "  Bin "  was  surely  more  reasonable  than 
"  been  "  ;  "  tha  "  than  "  they."  There  were  "  Dix- 
onaries  "  in  the  closets  along  with  the  Latin  books, 
but  they  were  troublesome,  and  not  always  to  be 
trusted.  Dr.  Johnson  —  if  we  can  imagine  him  as 
such  —  was  in  their  day  a  sweet  babe  in  long 
clothes  ! 

When  the  slow-sailing  ships  arrived  from  England 
one  might  have  the  fashions  of  six  months  ago. 

English  cousins  sometimes  came  over,  and  very 
nervous  were  the  Virginia  girls  lest  the  Western 
menage  should  be  found  to  be  behind  the  times. 
Among  old  letters  a  certain  Miss  Ambler  appears 
to  have  been  dreadfully  aggrieved  by  the  criticisms 
of  some  English  cousins.  "  Everything  we  eat, 
drink  or  wear  seems  to  be  wrong  —  the  rooms  are 
too  cold  or  too  hot ;  the  wood  is  not  laid  straight 
on  the  Andirons  :  —  and  even  poor  Aunt  Dilsey  does 
not  escape  censure,  —  dear  Aunt  Dilsey  whom  we 
all  so  love  !  Actually,  Aunt  Dilsey  came  to  me  in 
tears,  and  said  she  had  been  ordered  to  pull  down 
her  bandanna  so  that  none  of  her  wool  would  show 
in  the  back  of  her  poor  neck,  and  to  draw  cotton 


Social  Characteristics  and  Customs          165 

gloves  over  her  hands  for  they  were  f  so  black  and 

nasty '  ! " 

Many  of  the  Virginians,  at  that  early  day,  were 
advocates   of  negro  emancipation.     James  Monroe, 


James  Monroe. 

who  lived  in  Fredericksburg,  was  the  great  friend 
of  emancipation.  Monrovia,  the  capital  of  Liberia, 
was  named  in  his  honor.  It  was  a  citizen  of  Frede 
ricksburg,  in  1782,  who  introduced  into  the  body, 


1 66    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

which  had  replaced  the  House  of  Burgesses,  the 
first  resolution  for  the  emancipation  of  negroes  and 
for  the  prohibition  of  the  slave  trade  ever  offered  in 
America.  General  John  Minor,  of  "Hazel  Hill," 
was  the  author  and  advocate  of  this  measure.  In 
1792  the  first-published  utterance  against  slavery 
in  this  country  appeared  in  a  tract  entitled,  "  Slavery 
Inconsistent  with  Justice  and  Good  Policy,"  by  the 
Rev.  David  Rice.  When  estates  were  settled  large 
numbers  of  negroes  were  manumitted  by  common 
consent  and  sent  to  Liberia. 

We  have  reason  to  believe  that  house  ser-vants 
were  treated  with  the  affectionate  consideration  they 
deserved.  Mr.  Custis  distinctly  declares  that  this 
was  true  of  Mary  Washington,  —  that  she  was  al 
ways  kind  to  her  servants,  and  considerate  of  their 
comfort.  The  man  or  woman  who  treated  servants 
with  severity  was  outlawed  from  the  friendship  and 
respect  of  his  neighbors,  many  of  whom  at  a  later 
day  freed  their  slaves  and  left  them  land  to  live 
upon. 


CHAPTER   XX 

A    TRUE    PORTRAIT    OF    MARY    WASHINGTON 


"f~|  ^HE  search-lights  of  history  have  unfolded  to  us 
nothing  of  interest  touching  Mrs.  Washington 
JL  from  the  time  of  the  French  and  Indian  War 
until  the  awakening  of  the  great  Revolution.  Fortunate  is 
the  woman,  said  the  Greek  of  old,  of  whom  neither  good 
nor  ill  is  spoken.  And,  curtained  away  from  the  world, 
the  matron  lived  under  the  great  Taskmaster's  eye,  in  the 
bosom  of  that  home,  by  whose  fruit  ye  shall  know  her. 
Many  years  had  rolled  by  since  she  settled  at  c  Pine  Grove,' 
with  her  first-born  son.  And,  while  she  lived  in  retirement 
and  in  silence,  how  had  great  events  rushed  forward  ;  how 
had  the  child  become  the  father  to  the  man  ?  Grave  tasks 
were  his  while  yet  a  boy.  Step  by  step  he  ascended  the 
ladder  of  honor  and  usefulness.  A  surveyer  for  Lord  Fair 
fax  at  sixteen,  crossing  the  Blue  Ridge  on  horseback,  trav 
ersing  the  wilderness  to  the  bounds  of  civilization,  getting 
six  pistoles,  or  something  more  than  $7  a  day,  for  his 
efficient  service,  while  in  leisure  hours  he  read  under 
the  guidance  of  Lord  Fairfax,  the  history  of  England,  the 
4  Spectator,'  and  other  books  of  that  high  order  ;  appointed 
public  surveyor  a  little  later,  and  then  adjutant-general  of 
Virginia  troops  at  nineteen  ;  managing  a  great  plantation 
and  training  the  Militia  of  the  State  ;  at  twenty-one  pene 
trating  the  Northwest  as  a  negotiator  for  Governor  Din- 
widdie,  and  fighting  the  French  ;  aide-de-camp  to  Braddock, 

167 


1 68    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

a  little  later,  in  his  ill-starred  expedition,  suffering  defeat ; 
with  the  victor  at  Fort  Duquesne,  where  Pittsburg  now 
stands,  at  twenty-six ;  member  of  the  Virginia  House  of 
Burgesses  at  twenty-seven ;  ever  onward,  ever  upward, 
until,  as  the  great  Revolution  broke  out,  we  find  him 
journeying  to  Philadelphia  as  a  delegate  to  the  Continental 
Congress,  and  presently  appearing  on  the  field  of  Boston  as 
commander-in-chief  of  the  Continental  army  !  " 

Thus  spoke,  out  of  the  fulness  of  his  heart,  Sen 
ator  Daniel  at  the  unveiling  of  the  Mary  Washing 
ton  monument,  but  the  truth  is  that  these  years 
were  marked  by  many  cares  and  anxieties.  Five 
times  had  Samuel  Washington  married :  Jane 
Champe,  Mildred  Thornton,  Lucy  Chapman, 
Anne  Steptoe,  the  widow  Perrin.  This  list  sounds 
like  a  chapter  from  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Eighth. 
Tradition  says  he  was  separated  from  some  of  his 
wives  otherwise  than  by  death.  It  is  certain  he  was 
unfortunate  in  money  matters,  having  many  chil 
dren  and  finding  it  "  hard  to  get  along."  His 
brother  was  always  helping  him.  His  children 
were  much  at  Mount  Vernon,  especially  Steptoe 
Washington  and  Harriett  Washington,  whose  names 
appear  frequently  upon  the  general's  expense  book. 
He  enters  various  items  against  Harriett,  —  ear 
rings  and  necklace  and  many  garments.  He  be 
moans,  "  She  was  not  brung  up  right !  She  has  no 
disposition,  and  takes  no  care  of  her  clothes,  which 
are  dabbed  about  in  every  corner  and  the  best  are 


A  True  Portrait  of  Mary  Washington       169 

always  in  use."  "  In  God's  name/'  he  writes  to 
his  brother,  John  Augustine,  "  how  has  Samuel 
managed  to  get  himself  so  enormously  in  debt?" 
He  found  places  from  time  to  time  for  many  of 
Samuel's  sons,  and  was  never  other  than  good  to 
all. 

John  Augustine  Washington,  the  general's  favor 
ite  brother,  married  Hannah  Bushrod,  and  settled 
in  Westmoreland.  Charles,  the  youngest,  married 
Mildred  Thornton  of  the  Fall-Hill  Thorntons, 
near  Fredericksburg.  His  home  was  in  Charles- 
town,  Jefferson  County.  Of  him  the  world  has 
known  but  little.  In  the  presence  of  a  planet  of 
the  first  magnitude  the  little  stars  are  not  observed. 

Mary  Washington  was  now  alone  at "  Pine  Grove." 
Her  windows  commanded  Fredericksburg  and  the 
wharf,  where  the  ships  from  England  unloaded  rich 
stuffs  to  tempt  the  Virginian,  loading  again  with 
sweet-scented  tobacco  for  the  old  country  that  had 
so  quickly  learned  to  love  the  luxury  from  the  new. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  she  ever  bought  from  these 
vessels.  She  certainly  never  sold  to  them.  In 
1760  she  writes  to  her  brother  Joseph  in  England, 
excusing  herself  for  having  sent  him  no  letters, 
"  As  I  don't  ship  tobacco  the  Captains  never  call  on 
me,  soe  that  I  never  know  when  tha  come  and  when 
tha  goe."  She  was  a  busy  woman,  minding  her 
own  affairs  and  utterly  free  from  idle  curiosity.  Her 
life  was  full  of  interest  and  occupation.  The  con- 


1 70    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

scientious  housewife  of  her  day  was  burdened  with 
many  cares.  The  large  plantation  must  support 
itself.  Nearer  than  Annapolis  and  Williamsburg 
were  no  shops  or  stores  from  which  supplies  could 
be  drawn.  The  large  number  of  servants  living  on 
the  plantations  demanded  great  quantities  of  food 
and  clothing,  and  the  farm  work  many  utensils, — 
all  of  which  were  manufactured  on  the  farm  itself. 
The  diary  of  a  New  Jersey  tutor  gives  us  interesting 
accounts  of  life  in  the  Westmoreland  neighborhood, 
where  lived  the  Lees,  Carters,  Washingtons,  Tayloes, 
and  other  large  landholders.  Higher  up,  near 
Mount  Vernon,  dwelt  George  Mason  of  "  Gunston 
Hall,"  and  his  son,  John,  is  our  eye-witness-chron 
icler  of  the  plantation  life  near  Mary  Washington. 

u  It  was  the  practice  of  gentlemen  of  landed  and  slave 
estates  so  to  organize  them  as  to  have  resources  within 
themselves.  Thus  my  father  had  among  his  slaves  carpen 
ters,  coopers,  sawyers,  blacksmiths,  tanners,  curriers,  shoe 
makers,  spinners,  weavers  and  knitters,  and  even  a  distiller. 
His  woods  furnished  timber  and  plank  for  the  carpenters  and 
coopers,  and  charcoal  for  the  blacksmith  ;  his  cattle,  killed 
for  their  own  consumption,  supplied  skins  for  the  tanners, 
curriers  and  shoemakers ;  his  sheep  gave  wool,  his  fields 
flax  and  cotton  for  the  weavers;  and  his  orchards  fruit  for 
the  distiller.  His  carpenters  and  sawyers  built  and  kept  in 
repair  all  the  dwelling  houses,  barns,  stables,  ploughs, 
harrows,  gates,  &c.,  on  his  plantation.  His  coopers  made 
the  hogsheads  for  tobacco  and  the  casks  to  hold  the  liquors. 
The  tanners  and  curriers  tanned  the  skins  for  leather  and 


A  True  Portrait  of  Mary  Washington       171 

the  shoemakers  made  them  into  shoes  for  the  negroes. 
A  Professed  shoemaker  was  hired  for  three  or  four  months 
in  the  year  to  come  and  make  up  the  shoes  for  the  family. 
The  blacksmiths  did  all  the  iron  work  required  on  the 
plantation.  The  spinners  and  knitters  made  all  the  clothes 
and  stockings  used  by  the  negroes,  and  some  of  finer  texture 
worn  by  the  ladies  and  children  of  the  family.  The 
distiller  made  apple,  peach  and  persimmon  brandy.  A 
white  man,  a  weaver  of  fine  stuffs,  was  employed  to  super 
intend  the  black  weavers."1 

To  carry  on  these  operations  —  to  cure  and  pre 
serve  meats,  fruits,  and  medicinal  herbs,  make 
vinegar  and  cordials,  and  to  prepare  constantly  for 
a  great  deal  of  company,  coming  incessantly  to  stay 
at  the  house  —  required  unceasing  attention  and 
strict  method. 

This  is  a  large  pattern  which  was  repeated  on  a 
smaller  scale  by  Mary  Washington.  Method  be 
came,  with  her,  almost  a  mania.  Her  neighbors 
set  their  watches  by  the  ringing  of  her  bells.  She 
was  never  the  fraction  of  a  minute  too  late  at  church. 
She  was  punctiliously  exact  in  her  observance  of  all 
appointments  and  prompt  to  the  minute  in  meeting 
those  appointments.  By  the  well-regulated  clock 
in  her  entry  —  the  clock  which  is  now  preserved  at 
"  Kenmore"  —  all  the  movements  of  her  household 
were  regulated.  Her  illustrious  son  had  also  such 
a  clock.  He  graciously  allowed,  at  dinner,  five 
minutes  for  the  possible  variation  of  timepieces. 

1  "Life  of  George  Mason,"  by  Kate  Mason  Rowland. 


1 72    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

After  they  expired  he  would  wait  for  no  one.  If 
an  apologizing  guest  arrived  after  the  dinner  was 
advanced,  his  excuses  were  met  with  the  simple 
announcement,  "  Sir,  I  have  a  cook  who  never  asks 
whether  the  company  has  come,  but  whether  the 
hour  has  come."  His  mother  had  taught  him  the 
value  of  time.  Her  teaching  followed  him  through 
life,  and  was  obeyed  after  he  was  President  of  the 
United  States.  The  chaplain  of  Congress  records 
that  the  hour  of  noon  having  been  fixed  for  hearing 
the  President's  message,  he  usually  crossed  the 
threshold  exactly  as  the  clock  was  striking  twelve. 

A  contemporary  observer  relates  that  "  Mrs. 
Washington  never  failed  to  receive  visitors  with  a 
smiling,  cordial  welcome,"  but  adds  quaintly  that 
"  they  were  never  asked  twice  to  stay,  and  she 
always  speeded  the  parting  guest  by  affording  every 
facility  in  her  power."  Perfectly  sincere  herself, 
she  believed  them  sincere  when  they  declared  them 
selves  unable  to  remain. 

She  was  said  to  possess  a  dignity  of  manner  that 
was  at  first  somewhat  repellent  to  a  stranger,  but 
always  commanded  thorough  respect  from  her 
friends  and  acquaintances.  Her  voice  was  sweet, 
almost  musical  in  its  cadences,  yet  firm  and  decided, 
and  she  was  always  cheerful  in  spirit.  "  In  her  per 
son  she  was  of  the  middle  size,  and  finely  formed ; 
her  features  pleasing,  yet  strongly  marked." 

Her     young     friends    and    grandchildren     often 


A  True  Portrait  of  Mary  Washington       173 

visited  her.  Lawrence  Washington,  her  son's 
cousin  and  playmate,  said:  "I  was  more  afraid  of 
her  than  of  my  own  parents  —  and  even  when  time 
had  whitened  my  locks  I  could  not  behold  that 
majestic  woman  without  feelings  it  is  impossible  to 
describe.  She  awed  me  in  the  midst  of  kindness." 

"  She  was,"  said  one  of  her  family,  "  conspicuous 
for  an  awe-inspiring  manner,  so  characteristic  in  the 
Father  of  our  Country.  All  who  knew  her  will 
remember  the  dignified  matron  as  she  appeared 
when  the  presiding  genius  of  her  well-ordered 
home,  commanding  and  being  obeyed,"  never 
speaking  ill  of  any  one,  never  condescending  to 
gossip  herself  or  encouraging  gossip  in  others. 

I  have  always  felt  that  this  Lawrence  Washington, 
the  only  person  who  knew  Mary  Washington 
many  years  intimately,  and  who  wrote  his  impressions 
of  her,  was  responsible  for  the  universal  opinion  that 
she  was  stern  and  repelling,  —  an  opinion  that  has 
colored  all  the  traditions  of  all  the  others  who  knew 
her  as  children.  I  am  persuaded  that  this  Lawrence 
did  the  mischief.  Somebody  sowed  tares  in  the  fair 
field  of  her  reputation.  Lawrence,  I  am  sure,  was 
the  kind  of  boy  known  as  "a  terror,"  —  a  boy  who 
chased  chickens,  brought  hounds  and  muddy  feet 
on  the  polished  floors,  trampled  flower-beds,  rifled 
the  fruit  trees,  overturned  pans  of  milk,  upset  the 
furniture,  and  broke  the  china.  Well  might  he  be 
more  afraid  of  Mrs.  Washington  even  than  of  his  own 


174    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

parents  (and  what  more  could  he  say  ? ),  and  we  may 
believe  he  had  many  a  scolding  and  in  his  early 
years  an  opportunity  to  test  the  flavor  of  the  peach 
tree. 

I  am  so  fully  assured  that  his  testimony  was  the 
beginning  of  all  that  Mary  Washington  has  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  her  countrymen,  that  I  have  dili 
gently  looked  up  his  record,  hoping  to  find  that  he 
came  to  no  good :  but  alas  !  he  is  mentioned  with 
affectionate  respect  in  George  Washington's  will  as 
"  the  acquaintance  and  friend  of  my  juvenile  years." 
It  is  some  comfort,  however,  to  find  he  had  a  wild 
son,  Lawrence,  who  fought  a  duel,  and  gave  him  no 
end  of  trouble  ! 

And  as  to  the  traditions  !  What  are  they  worth  ? 
Has  the  reader  never  stood  in  a  line  when  a  story 
whispered  from  one  to  the  other  was  told  aloud  at 
the  end,  and  in  no  case  ever  found  to  be  the  story 
of  the  beginning  ?  Thomas  Fuller  tells  of  the  name 
"  Musard,"  which  became,  as  it  passed  down  the 
generations  from  lip  to  lip  "  Roper."  A  popular 
dramatic  reader  once  took  for  his  text  the  words 
"  come  here,"  and  showed  how  accent,  gesture, 
and  tone  could  change  their  meaning  from  invita 
tion  to  menace,  from  tenderness  to  fury. 

The  stories  told  of  Mary  Washington  were 
always  altered  to  fit  the  prevailing  opinion  of  her 
sternness.  Let  me  give  an  example.  "  When 
General  Washington  sent  over  the  country  to  im- 


A  True  Portrait  of  Mary  Washington       175 

press  horses  (and  pay  for  them)  his  officers  were 
attracted  by  a  pair  ploughing  in  a  field.  The 
driver  was  ordered  to  unhitch  them,  but  an  ebony 
Mercury  ran  to  warn  his  mistress  who  appeared  in 
her  doorway.  'Madam/  said  the  officer,  cwe  bear 
General  Washington's  orders  to  take  these  horses.' 
c  Does  George  need  horses  ? '  said  Mary  Washing 
ton.  £  Well,  he  can  have  mine,  but  he  must  wait 
until  my  field  is  finished.'  ' 

Now  this  is  a  poor  little  story,  with  no  point  at 
all  save  to  illustrate  Mary  Washington's  estimation 
of  the  relative  importance  of  the  sword  and  the 
ploughshare.  Like  all  others  it  is  changed  as  the 
years  pass.  A  short  time  ago  a  revised  edition 
reached  me  from  the  West. 

This  is  the  amended  story :  " c  What  are  you 
doing  there  with  my  horses  ? '  said  an  irate  old 
woman  who  appeared  just  then  on  the  field. 
c  Leave  the  place  instantly  ! '  <  But  —  Madam  — 
we  have  orders  from  the  Commander-in-chief!  We 
must  obey.'  c  Well,  then,  you  may  just  obey  me! 
Go  back  and  tell  your  Commander-in-chief  (with 
great  scorn  and  derision)  c  that  his  mother's  horses 
are  not  for  sale,  and  he  can't  borrow  'em  till  her 
spring  ploughing  is  done.'  It  was  the  part  of  pru 
dence  to  leave.  The  officers  left !  " 

The  story  grew  to  this  proportion  in  a  hundred 
years.  Given  another  hundred,  and  we  will  find 
that  Mary  Washington  laid  violent  hands  on  the 


176     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

men    who    claimed    the    horses,   and    chastised    the 
ploughmen  who  surrendered  them. 

In  1765  two  pair  of  observant  eyes  opened 
upon  the  world,  and  were  focussed  upon  the  "awe- 
inspiring"  lady,  Betty  Lewis,  little  Betty  and  Dr. 
Charles  Mortimer's  little  Maria.  The  children 
were  playmates,  schoolmates,  and  girl  friends  from  a 
very  early  age,  each  intimate  at  the  other's  home 
and  both  intimate  at  the  home  of  Mary  Washing 
ton.  They  adored  her !  They  found  naught  to 
remember  but  smiles,  gentle  words,  sweet,  motherly 
ways.  Betty  (afterwards  Mrs.  Charles  Carter)  has 
furnished  many  of  the  unimportant  traditions  quoted 
in  various  accounts  of  her  grandmother's  home  life. 
They  come  to  us  as  traditions  of  traditions,  not  to 
be  despised,  yet  not  to  be  accepted  as  history.  The 
other  pair  of  eyes  were  keener  for  the  dress  and 
belongings  of  her  venerable  friend.  To  Maria 
Mortimer,  daughter  of  Mary  Washington's  physi 
cian,  we  are  indebted  for  the  familiar  picture  of  the 
short  skirt  and  sack,  —  a  sort  of  cote-hardi,  —  the 
mob  cap,  the  table  upon  which  lay  "  Sir  Matthew 
Hale  "  and  his  ally,  in  the  presence  of  which  there 
was  such  small  hope  for  the  sinner.  Freshly 
gathered  from  the  friendly  peach  tree,  this  was  used 
as  freely  —  this  much  we  willingly  concede — as 
circumstances  demanded.  The  two  children  played 
happily  at  her  knee  despite  the  menacing  tools  of 
the  Inquisition,  which  we  would  fain  believe  were 
never  used  on  them. 


A  True  Portrait  of  Mary  Washington       177 

To  their  dying  day  they  talked  reverently  and 
most  abundantly ;  for  after  General  Washington 
became  so  very  great  there  were  always  listeners. 


Mrs.  Charles  Carter. 


Had  they  written  conscientiously  as  the  New  Jersey 
tutor  did  instead  of  talking,  we  might  have  known 
more  of  the  reserved,  stately  woman  who  bore  and 
fostered  and  taught  the  revered  Father  of  his 


178     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Country ;  but  we  know  too  well  how  sentiments 
can  be  trimmed  and  shaped  and  clothed  upon  as 
they  pass  down  the  generations  from  lip  to  lip,  to 
venture  to  give  them  as  gospel  facts  in  clear, 
twentieth-century  type.  They  will  surely  live 
without  the  aid  of  any  present  or  future  historian, 
for  this  is  the  fortune  of  trifles  !  Great  thoughts, 
feelings,  aspirations,  —  great  unselfish  deeds  even,  — 
perish  and  are  forgotten,  while  trifling  words,  ges 
tures,  peculiarities  in  dress  or  speech,  live  with  no 
apparent  reasonableness  whatever  —  certainly  not 
because  of  their  dignity  or  merit.  They  swarm 
around  the  honored  men  and  women  of  the  world 
like  insects  around  a  traveller  on  a  sunny  day, 
living  of  their  own  accord,  too  insignificant  to  chal 
lenge  or  brush  away,  gaining  dignity  at  last  from 
their  own  antiquity.  Who  cares  whether  Thomas 
Carlyle  liked  his  chops  tender,  objected  to  vermin, 
or  abhorred  the  crowing  of  a  cock  ?  Yet,  I  venture 
to  say,  when  his  name  is  called,  his  image  is  associ 
ated  oftener  with  his  peculiarities  than  with  the  sub 
lime  thoughts  with  which  he  sought  to  elevate  and 
inspire  the  world. 

Mary  Washington  sustained  through  a  long  life  a 
lofty  character  for  Christian  purity  and  dignity ; 
trained  a  son  to  lead  our  country  through  many 
years  of  danger  and  privation  to  the  liberty  and  pros 
perity  which  places  it  to-day  in  the  front  of  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth ;  yielded  her  life  at  last,  in  pain 


A  True  Portrait  of  Mary  Washington       179 

unspeakable,  with  no  murmur  upon  her  pure  lips. 
Yet  when  her  name  is  called,  all  the  ingenuity  of 
her  countrymen  is  aroused  to  accentuate  her  pecul 
iarities —  to  treat  her  with  a  sort  of  whimsical 
indulgence,  as  an  unlettered  old  woman,  conspicu 
ous  for  eccentricities  of  temper,  of  dress,  petty 
economies  —  in  short,  make  her  ridiculous  !  Truly, 
in  all  ages  there  are  Greeks  who  weary  of  hearing 
Aristides  called  the  Just ! 

In  the  face  of  all  the  testimony  I  have  presented 
and  will  present,  the  most  remarkable  statements 
regarding  Mary  Washington  are  continually  printed 
in  the  Historical  Sketches  published  by  the  best 
firms  in  the  country.  What  can  be  their  authority 
for  such  statements  as  these  ?  — 

"  The  Washingtons  were  poor  hard-working  people. 
Mary  Washington  cooked,  weaved,  spun,  washed  and  made 
the  clothes  for  her  family." 

"  Her  children  had  no  outer  garments  to  protect  them 
from  the  cold  —  no  cloak,  boots  or  hats  except  in  winter ; 
no  cloaks  then.  In  severe  weather  the  boys  simply  put 
on  two  or  three  trousers  instead  of  one." 

u  Mary  Washington  quarrelled  with  her  son  so  that 
when  he  wished  to  minister  to  her  comfort  in  her  old  age 
he  was  forced  to  do  so  through  some  third  party.  These 
things  she  accepted  as  her  due,  showing  a  grim  half-comic 
ingratitude  that  was  very  fine." 

"Washington's  mother  scolded  and  grumbled  to  the  day 
of  her  death  —  seeking  solace  only  by  smoking  a  pipe." 


180    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Could  this  monstrous  woman  have  held  an  hon 
ored  place  in  a  social  circle  of  stately,  courte 
ous,  cultured  people  ?  Why  assert  such  things 
which  completely  offset  an  oft-repeated  concession 
that  "  all  the  sterling,  classic  virtues  of  industry, 
frugality  and  truth-telling  were  inculcated  by  this 
excellent  mother  (!)  and  her  strong  common  sense 
made  its  indelible  impress  upon  the  mind  of  her 
son." 

She  has  also  suffered  much  at  the  hands  of  her 
own  countrywomen  !  We  must  remember  she  never 
appeared  in  the  full  blaze  of  public  scrutiny  until 
she  was  over  seventy  years  old,  and  then,  impov 
erished  by  a  long  war  with  an  entourage  the  most  dis 
couraging  and  painful.  Women  then  found  her 
parsimonious,  ungraceful  in  dress  and  manner,  sour 
in  temper  !  Pray  what  have  we,  my  fastidious  sisters, 
done  for  our  country  in  our  day  and  generation  ? 
Compare  our  privileges  and  opportunities  with  hers  ! 
The  wealth,  the  light,  the  leisure  of  a  happy  era,  are 
ours,  and  yet  not  enough  can  this  affluent  country 
afford  for  our  adornment,  our  culture  and  pleasure. 
We  can  —  and  do  —  traverse  the  earth,  flitting  from 
land  to  land  as  the  seasons  change,  becoming  ac 
quainted,  if  it  so  please  us,  with  the  cloistered  wis 
dom  of  libraries,  the  color  and  beauty  of  palaces,  the 
priceless  treasures  of  art  centres,  able  to  enrich  our 
minds  with  all  the  whole  world  has  to  offer,  from 
ancient  days  to  this,  and  with  the  possible  contact 


A  True  Portrait  of  Mary  Washington       181 

of  brilliant  minds  at  home  and  abroad.  Show  me 
the  result !  Something,  I  grant  you,  is  gained  in 
personal  charm,  much,  alas !  in  accentuating  the 
natural  heart-break  from  which  the  less  fortunate 
suffer  in  witnessing  the  undeserved  contrasts  and 
inequalities  of  life. 

Surely  it  is  not  for  American  women  of  this  day 
—  sheltered,  treasured,  adored  —  to  complain  that 
industry,  simplicity  in  living,  ungraceful  dress  and 
manner,  mar  the  portrait  of  a  noble  woman  whose 
lot  was  cast  in  a  narrow  and  thorny  path,  whose  life 
was  necessarily  a  denied  one,  and  yet  who  accom 
plished  more  for  her  country  than  any  other  woman 
ever  did  or  ever  can  do  ! 

It  was  her  pleasure  to  live  simply  —  at  a  time  of 
almost  riotous  profusion.  It  was  her  pleasure  to 
busy  her  own  hands  with  the  housewifely  work  of 
her  own  household,  —  knitting,  sewing,  sorting  fleeces 
for  "  Virginia  cloth,'*  preserving  fruits,  distilling 
herbs  for  the  sick,  —  "making  drudgery  divine" 
by  sharing  the  tasks  she  laid  upon  others,  thereby 
earning  her  many  gifts  to  the  poor.  In  an  age  of 
abundant  leisure  she  was  industrious  ;  in  an  age  of 
dissipation  of  time  and  money  she  was  self-denying, 
diligent,  and  frugal  ;  in  an  age  when  speech  was 
free  and  profanity  "  genteel "  she  preserved  her 
temperate  speech,  unpolluted  by  the  faintest  taint 
of  coarseness  or  irreverance.  When  the  church  no 
longer  concerned  itself  with  the  care  of  men's  souls, 


1 82    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

she  kept  her  own  serene,  in  her  simple  faith  that 
prayer  would  prevail  in  the  end,  performing  every 
outward  religious  duty  as  conscientiously  as  if  the 
priests  and  bishops  showed,  as  well  as  taught,  the 
way.  So  did  she  — 

"  .      .      .      travel  on  life's  common  way 
In  cheerful  Godliness  ;   and  yet  her  heart 
The  lowliest  duties  on  herself  did  lay." 

This,  the  result  of  many  years  spent  in  studying 
her  character,  the  writer  presents  as  the  true  Mary 
Washington,  to  be  honored  all  the  more  for  her 
retired,  her  simple  life,  her  homely  industries. 

It  is  proper  that  her  characteristics  should  be 
summed  up  before  the  weakness  of  extreme  old 
age  had  lessened  its  activity  and  usefulness,  while 
she  was  still  young  enough  to  catch  the  enthusiasm 
of  her  friends  and  neighbors  for  fine  houses,  fine 
coaches,  rich  dress,  and  much  indulgence  in 
pleasure. 

She  was  better  able  than  some  of  her  neighbors 
to  indulge  in  these  things,  deemed  in  her  day  the 
essentials  of  position.  Perhaps  she  may  have  heard 
the  specious  argument  urged  by  some  to  warrant 
such  indulgence,  —  the  argument  that  expenditure 
in  luxuries  becomes  the  duty  of  the  rich  in  order 
to  stimulate  the  industries  of  the  poor.  But  Mary 
Washington  believed  in  the  wholesome  influence  of 
an  example  of  self-denial,  which  can  only  become 


A  True  Portrait  of  Mary  Washington       183 

of  any  worth  when  practised  by  choice  and  not  by 
necessity.  And  yet  she  lived  long  before  Stuart 
Mill  and  other  political  economists  had  demon 
strated  that  money  spent  in  rich  garments,  jewels, 
and  luxury  in  living  adds  nothing  of  permanent 
value  to  the  world. 

She  never  left  the  plain,  four-roomed,  dormer- 
windowed  dwelling  at  "  Pine  Grove,"  until  for  her 
greater  protection  she  moved  into  Fredericksburg, 
choosing  a  home  still  plainer  and  less  spacious  than 
the  house  on  her  farm.  Says  Mr.  Custis,  who  saw 
her  in  this  home :  "  Her  great  industry,  with  the 
well-regulated  economy  of  all  her  concerns,  enabled 
her  to  dispense  considerable  charities  to  the  poor, 
although  her  own  circumstances  were  always  far 
from  rich.  All  manner  of  domestic  economies  met 
her  zealous  attentions ;  while  everything  about  her 
household  bore  marks  of  her  care  and  management, 
and  very  many  things  the  impress  of  her  own  hands. 
In  a  very  humble  dwelling  thus  lived  this  mother 
of  the  first  of  men,  preserving,  unchanged,  her 
peculiar  nobleness  and  independence  of  character/' 

This  most  valuable  testimony  as  to  Mary  Wash 
ington's  character,  appearance,  and  manner  is  con 
tained  in  the  first  chapter  of  "  The  Recollections 
and  Private  Memoirs  of  Washington,"  by  George 
Washington  Parke  Custis,  son  of  "  Jack  "  Custis, 
who  was  the  only  son  of  Mrs.  George  Washington. 
"Jack"  Custis  died  young  (he  was  married  at  nine- 


184    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

teen),  and  his  son,  named  for  General  Washington, 
with  his  sister,  Nelly  Custis,  were  adopted  into  the 
Mount  Vernon  family.  Although  this  son  was  too 
young  to  have  fully  appreciated  Mary  Washington, 
his  testimony  comes  directly  from  her  own  sons  and 
daughter  and  others  who  knew  her  intimately. 
Through  them  he  studied  her,  and  by  no  one  of 
them  was  he  contradicted.  His  statements  are  con 
clusive —  not  to  be  challenged.  They  need  no 
additional  force  from  the  tradition  that  between 
the  Custis  family  and  Madam  Washington  "  there 
was  never  perfect  accord  "  —  one  of  the  meaningless 
traditions  originating  in  the  busy  brain  of  some  gos 
sip,  for  which  there  was  no  foundation  in  truth. 
Although  several  extracts  have  already  been  given 
from  Mr.  Custis's  book,  the  fact  that  the  book 
itself  is  now  out  of  print,  and  to  be  found  only 
in  the  Congressional  Library  at  Washington,  and 
possibly  in  some  of  the  older  libraries  of  the  coun 
try,  will  perhaps  excuse  me  for  having  quoted  so 
freely  the  chapter  relating  to  Mary  Washington. 
It  was  written  only  thirty-seven  years  after  her 
death,  and  from  it  has  been  drawn  the  relations 
given  by  Sparks,  Lossing,  and  others. 

"The  mother  of  George  Washington,"  says  Mr. 
Custis,  "  the  hero  of  the  American  Revolutionary 
War,  and  the  first  President  of  the  United  States, 
claims  the  noblest  distinction  a  woman  should  covet 
or  can  gain,  that  of  training  a  gifted  son  in  the 


A  True  Portrait  of  Mary  Washington       185 

way  he  should  go,  and  inspiring  him  by  her  example 
to  make  the  way  of  goodness  his  path  to  glory." 

But  the  noblest  tribute  to  this  great  woman  was 
Washington's  own.  "  All  that  I  am,"  said  he,  "  I 
owe  to  my  mother."  All  that  we  are  as  a  nation 
we  owe  to  him.  His  debt  is  ours.  It  is  many 
times  multiplied.  It  is  ever  growing  as  the  ever 
growing  Republic  illustrates  in  its  virtues  and  in  its 
faults  alike  the  merit  of  his  example  and  the  wisdom 
of  her  teachings.  We  but  degrade  ourselves  when 
we  refuse  to  recognize  this  debt.  Let  us  rather 
discharge  it  as  best  we  may,  in  "  coin  of  the  highest 
value  —  the  pure  gold  of  devotion  and  gratitude." 


CHAPTER    XXI 

NOON    IN    THE    GOLDEN    AGE 

VIRGINIA,  between  the  years  1760  and 
1775,  attained  her  highest  prosperity.  The 
growth  of  the  colony  in  general,  and  the 
advance  of  luxury  in  living  was  rapid,  marked  by  an 
increased  taste  for  amusements  of  the  most  costly 
kind,  and  great  expenditure  in  living  and  entertaining. 
It  was  high  noon  in  the  Golden  Age  !  Life  was 
far  more  elegant  and  luxurious  than  it  was  even 
fifteen  years  before.  The  transplanted  Englishman 
had  rapidly  prospered  in  the  new  land.  Great 
wealth  had  suddenly  come  to  him  through  his 
tobacco,  and  he  made  haste  to  use  and  enjoy  it. 
The  four-roomed  house  —  quite  good  enough  for 
his  cavalier  grandfather  —  had  stepped  aside  to  give 
place  to  a  pillared,  porticoed,  stately  mansion.  The 
dormer  windows  —  like  heavy-lidded  eyes  —  had 
been  superseded  by  "  five  hundred  and  forty-nine 
lights  "  for  one  dwelling.  The  planter  often  built 
on  the  site  of  his  old  colonial  residence,  sometimes 
incorporating  the  old  into  the  new.  An  eminence, 
commanding  a  wide  view  of  the  surrounding  coun 
try,  was  a  coveted  spot  in  plantation  times.  It  be- 

186 


Noon  in  the  Golden  Age  187 

hooved  the  settler  (for  reasons  similar  to  those 
which  influenced  Captain  John  Smith)  to  build  his 
house  "  on  a  high  hill  neere  a  convenient  river,  hard 
to  be  assalted  and  easie  to  be  defended."  When 
the  perilous  days  "of  Indian  massacre  and  treachery 
had  passed  away,  and  the  country  had  entered  upon 
its  Saturnian  age  of  peace  and  plenty,  the  Virginians 
clung  to  the  old  historic  building-sites,  and  upon 
them  erected  ambitious  mansions,  with  flagged 
colonnades,  extended  wings,  and  ample  offices  ;  sur 
mounting  the  whole  with  an  observatory  whence 
the  proprietor  with  his  "  spy-glass "  could  sweep 
the  country  —  not  now  for  the  stealthy  approach 
of  an  enemy,  but  to  feast  his  eyes  upon  a  scene 
of  unbroken  beauty  peacefully  lying  beneath  a  sum 
mer's  sun.  The  mansion  stood  apart  in  solemn 
grandeur  upon  some  knoll  or  eminence  overlooking 
the  great  highway,  the  river.  It  was  not  to  be 
taken  casually,  in  a  by-the-way  sort  of  a  manner, 
not  to  be  stumbled  upon  by  accident.  It  was  to 
be  approached  with  deliberation  through  a  long  line 
of  sentinels  —  an  avenue  of  Lombardy  poplars  — 
"  the  proper  tree,  let  them  say  what  they  will,  to 
surround  a  gentleman's  mansion." 

This  landward  approach  to  the  house  passed 
sometimes  between  columns  of  trimmed  boxwood 
or  stone  gate-posts  upon  which  the  arms  granted 
the  family  in  England  were  carved  in  high  relief. 
Gravelled  paths  under  ornamental  trees  led  to  the 


1 88     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

veranda  with  its  lofty  columns.  In  the  rear,  the 
hill  sometimes  fell  sharply  to  the  riverside  in 
terraces,  after  the  English  fashion.  At  a  wharf, 
built  out  into  the  bed  of  the  stream,  the  family 
often  assembled  to  watch  the  sailing  of  their  own 
ships,  trading  directly  with  the  mother  country. 


Monticello.     The  Home  of  Thomas  Jefferson. 

On  the  green,  facing  the  river,  there  were  summer- 
houses  of  latticed  woodwork,  covered  with  climb 
ing  roses,  honeysuckle,  and  jasmine,  and  haunted 
by  brilliant  humming-birds.  Other  cool  retreats 
from  the  ardor  of  the  summer  sun  were  made  of 
resinous  cedars  planted  in  a  close  circle,  their  tops 
tied  together  and  their  walls  shaven  smoothly  until 


Noon  in  the  Golden  Age  189 

they  resembled  little  mosques  of  vivid  green.  A 
low  wall  covered  with  honeysuckle  or  Virginia 
creeper  bounded  the  grounds  at  the  water's  edge. 

But  it  was  in  the  garden  and  in  the  greenhouse 
that  the  lady  of  the  manor  exulted  !  No  simple 
flowers,  such  as  violets,  lilies,  or  roses  were  forced 
in  those  days.  These  would  come  with  the  melting 
of  the  snows  early  in  February.  Only  tropical 
beauties  were  reared  under  the  glass :  century-plant, 
cacti,  gardenias,  lemon  and  orange  trees ;  great, 
double,  glowing  pomegranates,  and  the  much-prized 
snowy  globes  of  Camellia  Japonica,  sure  to  be  sent 
packed  in  cotton  as  gifts  to  adorn  the  dusky  tresses 
of  some  Virginia  beauty,  or  clasp  the  folds  of  her 
diaphanous  kerchief.  These  camellias  were  reckoned 
the  most  elegant  of  flowers  —  so  pure  and  sensitive, 
resenting  the  profanation  of  the  slightest  touch. 
Fancy  a  cavalier  of  that  day  presenting  nothing 
rarer  than  a  bouquet  of  daisies  or  daffodils  ! 

But  the  garden  !  Who  can  describe  a  garden  in 
the  Virginia  of  1770?  When  the  little  children  of 
the  family  were  sent  forth  to  breathe  the  cool  air 
of  the  morning,  what  a  paradise  of  sweets  met  their 
senses  !  The  squares,  crescents,  stars,  and  circles, 
edged  with  box,  over  which  an  enchanted,  glistening 
veil  had  been  thrown  during  the  night ;  the  tall 
lilacs,  snowballs,  myrtles,  and  syringas,  guarding 
like  sentinels  the  entrance  to  every  avenue ;  the 
glowing  beds  of  tulips,  pinks,  purple  iris,  and  hya- 


190    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

cinths ;  the  flowering-almond  with  its  rosy  spikes  ; 
the  globes  of  golden  passion-fruit ;  the  figs,  rimy 
with  the  early  dew  and  bursting  with  scarlet  sweet 
ness  !  The  whole  world  filled  with  bloom  and 
beauty,  fragrance  and  melody. 

At  a  respectful  distance  from  the  mansion  were 
smaller  houses  of  brick  or  stone,  far  enough  removed 
from  "  the  great  house  "  to  secure  the  master's  quiet 
and  privacy.  In  one,  a  five-roomed  building  served 
for  schoolhouse  and  lodging-rooms  for  the  tutor  and 
boys  of  the  family.  Another  was  "  the  office  "  for 
the  transaction  of  business  with  agents  from  the 
other  plantations  of  the  master,  or  with  captains 
of  trading  vessels  lying  at  his  wharf,  laden  with  out 
going  tobacco,  or  unloading  the  liquors,  books,  musi 
cal  instruments,  and  fine  stuffs  for  the  family.  In  the 
rear,  hidden  by  maple  or  cherry  trees,  were  many 
houses  :  wash-house,  dairy,  bake-house,  storehouses, 
and  a  kitchen  as  large  as  the  five-roomed  school- 
house,  for  the  sole  use  of  the  great  High  Priest  — 
the  cook  —  and  her  family.  "All  these  formed  a 
handsome  street,"  adds  Mr.  Fithian  (the  New  Jersey 
Presbyterian  tutor,  whom  nothing  escaped),  and  all 
were  surrounded  with  little  gardens  and  poultry- 
yards,  and  enlivened  with  swarms  of  chickens, 
ducks,  pigs,  and  little  negroes.  Remote  from  these 
were  the  great  stables,  well  filled  and  admirably 
regulated. 

The  kitchens  of  these  later  mansions  were  always 


Noon  in  the  Golden  Age  191 

a  long  distance  away,  because  that  source  of  comfort, 
the  black  cook,  had  so  many  satellites  revolving 
around  her  and  drawing  sustenance,  light,  and  warmth 
from  her  centre,  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to 
give  her  elbow-room.  The  satellites,  however,  had 
their  uses.  At  dinner-time,  each  one  with  shining 
face,  robed  in  a  great  apron  to  supplement  various 
trouser  deficiencies,  and  bearing  covered  dishes, 
formed  a  solemn  procession  back  and  forth  to  the 
dining  room.  There  the  frosty  eye  of  the  gray- 
haired  butler  awed  them  into  perfect  decorum ; 
and  in  the  kitchen  the  vigorous  arm  of  the  cook 
kept  them  well  within  bounds,  along  with  the 
hounds,  and,  like  them,  devouring  with  hopeful 
eyes  the  delicious  viands  in  course  of  preparation. 
The  planter  felt  that  the  time  had  come  to  con 
cern  himself  with  the  elegancies  of  fine  living.  He 
went  home  to  England  to  select  books  for  his  library 
and  to  have  his  portrait  painted  by  Sir  Joshua  Rey 
nolds  ;  perhaps  bring  over  his  grandfather's  por 
trait  by  Sir  Peter  Lely,  or,  at  least,  secure  a  copy  of 
Sir  Peter's  portrait  of  Charles  the  First.  A  precious 
picture  now  and  then  found  its  way  to  the  drawing- 
rooms  of  the  Northern  Neck ;  and  at "  Elsing  Green," 
a  little  lower  down  in  King  William  County,  were 
hangings  of  priceless  value  —  a  set  of  Gobelin 
tapestry  presented  to  the  owner's  ancestor,  Gilbert 
Burnet,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  by  William  of  Orange. 
"  Race  horses,  drawn  masterly  and  set  in  elegant 


192     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

frames/'  adorned  the  dining-room  walls  of  Colonel 
John  Tayloe  of  Mount  Airy,  owner  of  the  great 
Yorick,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  horses  of  the 
day ;  and  in  the  same  dining  room  stood  the  famous 
punch-bowl,  since  celebrated  in  verse.  The  fashion 
of  adorning  the  grounds  with  marble  statues  is  first 
mentioned  in  describing  Colonel  Tayloe's  beautiful 
garden,  near  Mary  Washington's  girlhood  home. 


Elsing  Green. 

Libraries  in  1770  had  been  well  chosen,  and  had 
attained  respectable  proportions.  Mr.  Robert  Car 
ter  of  Westmoreland,  and  other  men  of  wealth,  had 
collected  law-books,  books  on  divinity  relating  to 
the  Established  Church,  a  large  musical  library,  the 
works  of  Pope,  Locke,  Addison,  Young,  Swift,  Dry- 
den,  "  and  other  works  of  mighty  men,"  in  the  Latin 
tongue. 


Noon  in  the  Golden  Age  193 

Mr.  Carter  had  also  every  musical  instrument 
then  known  :  "  An  Organ,  Spinet,  Forte- Piano, 
Guittar,  German  Flutes,  Harpsichord  and  Har 
monica.  The  last,  the  wonderful  new  instrument 
invented  by  one  Benjamin  Franklin  of  Philadel 
phia  "  (him  of  the  Blackbeard  Ballad),  "  being  musi 
cal  glasses  without  water,  framed  into  a  complete 
instrument  capable  of  thorough  bass  and  never  out 
of  tune."  On  these  the  master,  his  sons,  and 
daughters,  and  the  Presbyterian  tutor  discoursed 
learned  music,  sonatas,  etc. 

Reading  of  this  age,  one  is  amazed  at  the  activity 
of  these  Virginians  of  the  Northern  Neck.  They 
were  forever  in  motion,  passing  up  and  down  the 
Potomac  and  Rappahannock  —  the  great  canals  of 
their  Venice  —  in  barges  and  batteaux,  and  across 
country  from  one  river  to  the  other  on  horseback,  in 
chaises  and  chariots. 

The  Potomac  was  the  theatre  of  much  rivalry  and 
ostentation  among  the  rich  planters  whose  estates 
bordered  the  river.  Superb  barges  were  made  to 
their  order  in  England ;  and  the  negro  crew  rowing 
them  were  clad  in  showy  uniforms.  Occasionally 
a  British  frigate  would  appear  on  the  river,  when  all 
the  country  would  be  thrown  into  a  "  paroxysm  of 
festivity."  Breakfasts  and  dinners  at  Mount  Vernon 
and  "  Belvoir  "  (the  seat  of  the  Fairfaxes)  would  be 
in  order,  with  the  return  courtesies  of  afternoon  teas 
on  board  the  frigate. 


194    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

The  river  was  always  in  order,  but  the  highway  on 
land  was  about  the  last  thing  to  which  the  Virginian 
turned  his  attention.  He  accepted  it  as  it  was.  If 
a  section  became  impassable  to  the  family  chariot, 
drawn  often  by  six  horses,  the  outriders  simply  dis 
mounted,  and  with  axes  cleared  a  passage  around  it 
for  the  vehicle  to  "  turn  out."  Hence  the  necessity 
for  these  outriders.  The  family  never  went  abroad 
unattended.  At  one  dinner,  described  by  our  Frois- 
sart  of  the  Northern  Neck,  eight  servants  accom 
panied  the  coach  and  chaise,  namely:  coachman, 
driver,  two  postillions,  two  servants  for  the  master, 
one  each  to  attend  the  two  gentlemen  on  horse 
back  —  the  chaise  being  driven  by  the  master 
himself. 

There  were  no  bridges  across  the  rivers.  Logs 
of  wood  placed  side  by  side  with  planks  nailed  across 
formed  a  wide,  floating  bridge  which  sank  several 
inches  under  the  weight  of  the  great  coach,  the 
horses  splashing  through  the  water.  When  the 
roads  lay  through  level  ground,  after  rains  they  were 
submerged  for  miles.  Struggling  through  such  a 
watery  lane  to  visit  John  Augustine  Washington,  an 
English  traveller  lost  heart,  and  called  out  to  the 
postillion  of  the  coach  sent  to  fetch  him,  "  Here,  you 
fellow !  How  far  out  into  the  river  does  your  un 
fortunate  master  live  ?  "  Nobody  ever  thought  it 
worth  while  to  drain  the  roads.  When  they  ran 
through  fields  crossed  and  recrossed  by  "  stake- 


Noon  in  the  Golden  Age  195 

fences  "  (stakes  set  at  intervals  and  woven  basket- 
fashion  with  "  savin  "  or  juniper  boughs)  the  pauses 
were  incessant.  Bars  had  to  be  let  down,  gates 
opened  and  shut.  Our  Froissart  counted  thirteen 
gates  in  fifteen  miles. 

"  When  the  roads  were  too  rough  for  carriages/' 
says  an  old  writer  who  remembered  them,  "  the 
ladies  used  to  ride  on  ponies,  followed  by  black 
servants  on  horseback.  In  this  way  ladies,  even 
when  advanced  in  life,  used  to  travel,  clad  in  the 
scarlet  riding-habits  procured  from  England.  Nay, 
in  this  way,  on  emergencies,  the  young  ladies  used 
to  come  to  the  balls,  riding  with  their  hoops 
arranged  {  fore  and  aft '  like  lateen  sails,  and  after 
dancing  all  night  ride  home  again  in  the  morn 
ing." 

A  "  neighborhood  "  included  everybody  within  a 
day's  journey,  all  the  way  from  Westmoreland  to 
Mount  Vernon.  Dinner-parties  were  going  on  as 
incessantly  then  in  the  Northern  Neck  as  now  in 
the  metropolis.  The  nearest  neighbors  were  invited 
to  these  every  few  days,  while  occasionally,  in  order 
to  reach  the  whole  community  of  several  counties, 
balls  were  given  to  last  five  days  ! 

Of  course,  all  this  close  and  familiar  intercourse 
was  an  important  agent  in  the  wonderful  unanimity 
of  the  entire  country  when  the  hour  of  conflict  had 
come.  At  these  balls  and  dinners  something  was 
done  besides  dancing  and  card-playing  —  some  hint 


196     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

or  word  from  eloquent  lips  to  keep  alive  the  spark 
soon  to  burst  forth  in  resistless,  all-conquering 
flame.  Historians  speak  of  the  period  as  "  the  lull 
before  the  storm."  It  was  not  by  any  means  a 
"  lull  "  —  rather  a  carnival ! 


CHAPTER    XXII 

DINNERS,    DRESS,    DANCES,    HORSE-RACES 

IF  the  grave  New  Jersey  Presbyterian  tutor  — 
who    has    given    us    so    faithful    a    picture    of 
domestic  life  in  the  Northern  Neck  —  saw  fit 
to  burn  his  candles  at  night  while  he  described  the 
dresses,  dinners,  and  dances  of  his  day,  surely  it  is 
worth  our  while  to  pause  in  our  history  to  consider 
them. 

The  planter's  daily  life  began  betimes  with  an 
early  breakfast.  The  planter  was  an  early  riser. 
He  had  retired  early.  The  myrtle-berry  candle  — 
the  costly  spermaceti  —  were  not  brilliant  enough 
to  tempt  late  hours.  Often  before  daybreak  in  the 
winter,  when  the  nights  were  long,  he  might  be  found 
at  his  secretary  arranging  the  work  of  the  day.  Wash 
ington  at  Mount  Vernon  would  light  his  own  fire 
and  read  by  candle-light,  then  breakfast  on  tea  and 
Indian-meal  cakes  at  eight  o'clock.  But  to  all  rules 
he  and  his  mother  were  exceptions  !  The  usual  life 
of  the  planter  admitted  more  luxury.  His  break 
fast  was  a  good  one  !  But  first,  having  risen  early, 
he  mixed  with  his  own  hands  the  great  beaker  of 
crushed  ice,  peach-brandy,  and  mint  to  be  sent 

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around  to  all  the  rooms  as  an  appetizer.  Even  the 
children  were  admitted  to  this  morning  loving-cup. 
Virginians  believed  in  it ! 

Luckily  the  breakfast  is  not  left  to  a  twentieth- 
century  imagination — which  would  probably  sug 
gest  an  orange,  coffee,  and  roll.  The  Rev.  Andrew 
Burnaby,  Vicar  of  Greenwich,  London,  had  the 
pleasure  of  eating  a  Virginia  breakfast  in  1759: 
"  The  ancient  custom  of  eating  meat  for  breakfast 
still  continues.  At  the  top  of  the  table  where  the 
lady  of  the  house  presides,  there  is  constantly  tea 
and  coffee,  but  the  rest  of  the  table  is  garnished  out 
with  roasted  fowls,  ham,  venison,  game  and  other 
dainties.  There  is  scarcely  a  Virginia  lady  who 
breakfasts  without  ham  !  " 

Dinner  at  home  or  abroad  was  served  not  later 
than  three,  and  was  preceded  by  at  least  one  mint 
julep  all  around.  At  one  home  dinner  we  read  of 
four  kinds  offish,  "Sheeps-head,  Bass,  Perch,  Picked 
Crab:  Ham,  Mutton,  vegetables,  pudding,  fruits, 
cheese,  old  Madeira,"  which  to  be  presentable  must 
have  crossed  the  ocean  more  than  once.  A  dinner 
included  three  courses,  —  soup,  then  the  whole 
dinner  placed  on  the  table  at  once,  then  dessert. 
Ducks  were  served  at  the  fish  feasts.  The  deli 
cious  canvasback  duck  was  by  no  means  so  highly 
appreciated  as  it  is  now.  They  were  left  in  com 
parative  peace  to  feed  upon  the  tender  wild  celery 
of  the  Potomac  marshes.  The  diamond-backed  ter- 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        199 

rapin  was  much  too  abundant  to  be  considered  a 
dainty.  To  save  the  scarcer  and  costlier  pork,  ter 
rapin  was  fed  to  the  negroes.  Laws  were  enacted 
in  Maryland  forbidding  the  slaves'  rations  to  be 
exclusively  of  terrapin  ! 

At  one  of  General  Washington's  ceremonious 
dinners  there  was  soup,  fish  roasted  and  boiled, 
"  gammon  of  bacon  "  and  fowl.  The  middle  of  the 
table  was  decorated  with  artificial  flowers  and  small 
images.  The  dessert  was  a  pudding  and  apple  pie, 
ice-cream,  jellies,  melons,  apples,  peaches,  nuts. 
This  dinner  was  recorded  as  "a  great  dinner."  To 
day  it  would  be  considered  "a  good  enough  dinner, 
to  be  sure,  but  not  a  dinner  to  ask  a  man  to  !"  Some 
of  the  receipts  for  these  old  Virginia  dinners  have 
been  preserved  in  the  Randolph  family  —  notably 
the  receipts  for  English  plum  pudding,  and  for  the 
Christmas  mince  pie. 

Tables  were  richly  furnished  with  burnished  pew 
ter  and  handsome  silver.  So  many  articles  of  silver 
—  bowls,  cups,  and  salvers  —  were  imported  from 
England  that  the  thrifty  planter  was  constrained  to 
import  an  engraver  as  well,  in  order  that  his  arms 
and  crests  might  be  engraved  under  his  personal 
supervision.  The  china  was,  of  course,  English  or 
of  English  importation.  We  manufactured  no  china, 
imported  none  from  the  East  —  probably  none  from 
France.  Mary  Washington's  china  we  know  was 
blue  and  white.  Knives  were  of  fine  Sheffield  steel, 


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and  served  other  uses  than  cutting.  How  else  did 
the  colonial  dames  eat  their  peas  ?  Surely  not 
with  the  little  steel  fork  with  two  wide-apart  prongs. 
This  is  a  painful  reflection,  but  we  must  remem 
ber  that  a  good  many  ladies  whom  the  world  has 
admired  —  Helen  of  Troy,  the  Mother  of  the 
Gracchi,  all  of  its  earth-born  goddesses,  in  fact, 
until  Queen  Elizabeth  —  had  to  content  themselves 
at  dinner  with  the  utensils  God  had  given  them. 
They  had  no  forks  at  all — not  even  a  chop-stick! 
Hence  the  early  need  for  napkins. 

There  was  no  lack  of  good  napery  in  Mary 
Washington's  time,  but  the  usage  of  napkins  dif 
fered  somewhat  from  the  usage  of  to-day,  at  least 
at  General  Washington's  dinners. 

The  destruction  of  cattle  by  Tarleton's  Red  Dra 
goons  caused  almost  a  famine  of  cream  and  butter, 
immediately  after  the  war,  so  that  "trifle"  and  ice 
cream  were  articles  of  prime  luxury.  To  obtain 
sufficient  cream  for  the  dish  known  variously  as 
trifle,  syllabub,  or  floating  island,  it  was  some 
times  necessary  to  save  it  until  it  soured  or  grew 
rancid. 

Mrs.  Morris  tells  of  such  a  misfortune  at  one  of 
Washington's  state  dinners.  She  did  not  hesitate 
to  consign  her  own  unswallowed  morsel  to  her  nap 
kin,  but  records  with  wicked  glee  that  "  poor  Lady 
Washington  ate  a  whole  plate-full  without  wincing." 

At  dinner  much  ceremony  was  observed.     "  I  have 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        201 

fortunately  learned  by  heart  all  the  ceremonies  of  the 
table,  and  will  make  no  mistakes,"  says  the  tutor  ex 
ultantly,  when  he  finds  it  necessary  to  preside  in  the 
illness  of  the  mistress  and  absence  of  the  master. 
Toasts  were  regularly  drunk  at  dinner  if  there  were 
guests  —  but  postponed  to  the  evening  bowl  of 
"  toddy "  or  punch  when  the  family  was  alone. 
No  day  passed  without  these  toasts.  "  To  the 
King  and  Queen,  the  Governor  of  Virginia  and 
his  Lady,  and  success  to  American  Trade  and 
Commerce."  After  these  each  person  was  called 
upon  by  the  master  for  his  toast.  "  I  gave  the 
Lovely  Laura,"  says  our  tutor — Laura  being  the 
name  in  Cupid's  court  for  Miss  Betty  Beatty. 

One  might  trace  the  changes  in  political  feeling 
by  these  toasts.  At  first,  after  the  royal  family 
and  success  to  Virginia  commerce,  only  the  respec 
tive  favorites  among  the  ladies.  Presently  we  ob 
serve  that  "  The  Sons  of  Liberty  "  have  crept  into 
the  company  to  demand  a  toast.  Then  an  ominous 
toast  follows  the  king  and  all  the  rest,  "  Wisdom  and 
Unity  to  the  Conference  now  assembled."  Then 
the  royal  family,  governor,  and  his  lady  are  dropped 
altogether,  and  the  toast,  praying  for  "  Wisdom  and 
Unity,"  takes  their  places.  The  Prince  de  Broglie 
records  the  toasts  at  General  Washington's  table,  — 
"  The  United  States  of  America,  the  King  of  France, 
the  Queen  "  ;  "  Success  with  our  Enemies  and  the 
Ladies  "  ;  "  Success  in  War  and  Love."  After  these. 


202    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

the  Marquis  de  Lafayette  and  the  military  heroes  of 
the  war.  General  Washington,  when  President, 
discontinued  this  custom,  contenting  himself  with 
grave  bows,  and  "Your  Health,  Sir;  your  Health, 
Madam,"  all  around  the  table,  until  every  one  was 
thus  honored. 

One  can  hardly  repress  a  shudder  at  the  accounts 
given  by  Robert  Maclay  and  others  of  the  deadly  dul- 
ness  and  formality  of  General  Washington's  state  din 
ners.  He  kept  up  this  formal  coldness  to  the  end. 
Free  and  easy  manners  came  in  with  Mr.  Jefferson 
and  long  trousers.  Fancy  this  incident  occurring 
at  General  Washington's  table :  "  Here's  to  thy 
Absent  Broad-brim  Friend  Hollingworth,"  from 
Dolly  Madison.  "  Here's  to  thy  Absent  Kerchief, 
Friend  Dorothy,"  from  the  Quaker. 

At  informal  dinners  among  neighbors  the  com 
pany  "sat  until  sunset,"  then  coffee,  and  at  nine 
o'clock  supper,  —  artichokes,  crabs,  oysters,  straw 
berries  and  cream,  the  punch-bowl  again.  Record 
is  made  of  "  Sudden  Pains  and  Sickness  at  the 
Stomach  at  night." 

The  dancing  class  was  held  in  succession  at  all 
the  mansions  along  the  Potomac  as  far  as  Mount 
Vernon.  Mr.  Christian  —  stern  but  elegant  — 
taught  minuets  and  country-dances,  first  politely 
requesting  each  guest  "to  step  a  minuet."  He 
does  not  hesitate  to  rap  two  young  misses  across 
the  shoulder  for  a  fault,  and  to  inform  "  one  young 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        203 

Fellow "  that  he  has  observed  him  "  through  the 
course  of  the  Dance,"  to  be  "insolent  and  wanton," 
and  shall  require  him  to  alter  his  manner  or  leave 
the  school.  Then,  when  candles  are  lighted,  hav 
ing  danced  all  day,  Mr.  Christian  winds  up  with 
another  minuet  and  country-dance,  and  at  seven  is 
glad  to  retire.  But  fun  holds  awhile  longer.  They 
all  "  play  Button  to  get  Pauns  for  Redemption,  and 
carry  it  on  with  sprightliness  and  Decency."  The 
tutor  is  in  luck.  "  In  the  course  of  redeeming  my 
Pauns  I  had  several  Kisses  of  the  Ladies."  Then 
Colonel  Philip  Ludwell  Lee  arrives  in  a  travelling 
chariot  from  Williamsburg.  "  Four  candles  on  the 
table  make  the  room  luminous  and  Splendid."  There 
is  a  fine  supper  with  four  instructed  waiters.  After 
supper  all  gather  around  the  fire  and  "  play  c  break 
the  Pope's  neck  '  '  until  ten  o'clock,  and  then  to 
bed. 

"  Almost  every  lady  wears  a  red  cloak," *  says  our 
tutor  ;  "  and  when  they  ride  out  they  tye  a  red  hand 
kerchief  over  their  Head  and  face,  so  that  when  I  first 
came  to  Virginia  I  was  distressed  whenever  I  saw  a 
Lady,  for  I  thought  she  had  a  Tooth-Ach."  At  a  five- 
days'  ball  at  Squire  Lee's  "  the  Ladies  were  dressed 
Gay  and  splendid,  and  when  Dancing  their  Skirts  and 
Brocades  rustled  and  trailed  behind  them.  For  five 
days  and  nights  they  Danced  minuets,  reels,  marches  : 
Giggs  (an  exaggerated  dance  resembling  the  Trescone 

1  "Journal  of  Philip  Vickens  Fithian,"  edited  by  John  Rogers  Williams. 


204    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

of  Italy)  and,  last  of  all,  Country  Dances  to  the  Music 
of  a  French  Horn  and  two  Violins,  for,"  says  the  as 
tonished  tutor,  "  Blow  high,  Blow  Low,  the  Virgin 
ians  are  genuine  blood  —  they  will  Dance  or  die  !  " 

The  plantation  fiddler  belonging,  as  did  the  bar 
ber,  shoemaker,  and  carpenter,  to  each  establish 
ment,  seems  to  have  sufficed  for  Mr.  Christian's 
class.  At  this  the  gentlemen  were  "  drest  in  black, 
superfine  broadcloth,  laced  Ruffles,  Black  silk  Stock 
ings,  buckles  at  knee  and  instep.  They  wore  powder 
on  their  Hair,  or  the  short  Wig  now  in  fashion." 

The  ladies,  well,  the  principal  ladies,  must  each 
sit  for  her  own  portrait. 

First,  Mary  Washington's  granddaughter,  "  Miss 
Jenny  Washington,1  about  seventeen,  not  a  hand 
some  face,  but  neat  in  her  Dress,  well-proportioned, 
and  has  an  easy,  winning  Behaviour.  She  is  not  for 
ward  to  begin  a  conversation,  yet  when  spoken  to 
is  extremely  affable  without  assuming  any  girlhood 
affectation  or  pretending  to  be  overcharged  with 
Wit.  She  moves  with  propriety  when  she  dances  a 
Minuet,  and  without  any  Flirts  or  vulgar  Capers 
when  She  dances  a  Reel  or  Country-Dance.  She 
plays  well  on  Harpsichord  and  Spinet,  understands 
the  principles  of  Musick  and  therefore  performs 
her  Tunes  in  perfect  time  —  a  neglect  of  which  al 
ways  makes  music  intolerable,  but  it  is  a  fault  almost 
universal  in  young  Ladies.  She  sings  likewise  to 

1  Fithian's  "Journal." 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        205 

her  instrument,  has  a  strong,  full  voice  and  a  well- 
judging  Ear.  Most  of  the  Virginia  Girls  think  it 
labour  quite  sufficient  to  thump  the  Keys  of  a  Harp 
sichord,"  etc.  "  Her  Dress  is  rich  and  well-chosen, 
but  not  tawdry,  nor  yet  too  plain.  She  appears  to 
day  "  (at  the  dancing  class  in  the  morning)  "  in  a 
chintz  cotton  gown  with  an  elegant  vblue  Stamp,  a 
sky-blue  silk  Quilt  "  (petticoat  over  which  the  gown 
opens),  "a  spotted  apron.  Her  Hair  is  a  light 
Brown,  it  was  craped  up  high  with  two  Rolls  at 
each  Side,  and  on  the  top  a  small  cap  of  beautiful 
Gauze  and  rich  lace,  with  an  artificial  flower  inter 
woven." 

Very  satisfactory  indeed  for  Mary  Washington's 
granddaughter,  sister  of  Bushrod  Washington,  after 
wards  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

Next,  Miss  Betsy  Lee  :  "  She  is  a  well-set  maid 
of  a  proper  Height,  neither  high  nor  low.  Her 
Aspect  when  she  is  sitting  is  masculine  and  Daunt 
less  :  she  sits  very  erect ;  places  her  feet  with  great 
propriety,  her  Hands  she  lays  carelessly  in  her  lap 
and  never  moves  them  but  when  she  has  occasion  to 
adjust  some  article  of  her  dress,  or  to  perform  some 
exercise  of  her  Fan.  Her  Eyes  are  exactly  such  as 
Homer  attributes  to  the  Goddess  Minerva  and  her 
arms  resemble  those  which  the  same  Poet  allows 
to  Juno.  Her  Hair  which  was  a  dark  Brown  was 
craped  up  very  high  and  in  it  she  had  a  Ribbon 
interwoven  with  an  artificial  Flower.  At  each  of 


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her  ears  dangled  a  brilliant  jewel.  She  was  pinched 
up  rather  too  near  in  a  long  pair  of  new-fashioned 
Stays,  which  I  think  are  a  nuisance  both  to  us  and 
themselves  —  For  the  late  importation  of  Stays,  said 
to  be  now  most  fashionable  in  London,  are  produced 


Bushrod  Washington. 

upwards  so  high  that  we  can  have  scarce  any  view 
at  all  of  the  Ladies'  Snowy  Bosoms ;  and  on  the 
contrary  they  are  extended  downwards  so  low  that 
Walking  must,  I  think,  cause  a  disagreeable  friction 
of  some  parts  of  the  Body.  I  imputed  the  Flush 
which  was  visible  in  her  Face  to  her  being  swathed 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        207 

up  Body  and  Soul  and  Limbs  together.  She  wore  a 
light  chintz  gown  with  a  blue  stamp  elegantly  made 
which  set  well  upon  her.  She  wore  a  blue  Silk 
Quilt.  Her  dress  was  rich  and  fashionable  and  her 
behaviour  was  such  as  I  should  expect  to  find  in  a 
Lady  whose  education  had  been  constructed  with 
some  care  and  skill." 

So  much  for  Miss  Lee.  Now  for  the  country 
beauty,  Miss  Aphia  Fauntleroy  (afterwards  married 
to  Captain  John  Champe  Carter  of  the  Revolution). 

"  Is  the  best  dancer  of  thewhole  absolutely  ! — And 
the  finest  Girl !  Her  head  powdered  as  white  as 
snow  and  craped  in  the  newest  taste.  She  is  the 
copy  of  the  Goddess  of  Modesty  —  very  handsome. 
She  seemed  to  be  loved  by  all  her  Acquaintances 
and  Admired  by  every  Stranger." 

"Miss  Priscilla  Carter  is  16  —  small  of  her 
age,  has  a  mild  winning  Presence,  a  sweet  obliging 
Temper,  never  swears  which  is  here  a  distinguished 
virtue,  dances  finely,  plays  well  on  key'd  Instru 
ments,  is  never  without  what  seems  to  have  been  a 
common  Gift  of  Heaven  to  the  fair  Sex,  the  Copia 
Verborum,  or  readiness  of  Expression."  (This 
sweet-tempered  fifteen-year-older,  a  pupil  of  the 
Presbyterian  tutor,  was  a  young  lady  of  spirit.) 
"  Miss  Prissy  is  much  offended  !  She  retains  her 
anger  and  seems  peculiarly  resentful,  refusing  to 
walk  over  to  the  school.  Indeed  she  is  much 
affronted.  Monday  afternoon  by  chance  I  tapp'd 


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her  on  the  Head  and  wholly  in  Jest."  Five  days 
later  the  Diary  records,  "  At  last  Prissy  is  recon 
ciled,"  having  punished  him  sufficiently. 

Next,  Miss  Hale,  fourteen  years  old.  "  She  is 
dressed  in  a  white  Holland  gown,  quilt  very  fine, 
a  Lawn  Apron,  has  her  hair  craped  high,  and  upon 
it  a  Tuft  of  Ribbon  for  a  cap.  Once  I  saw  her 
standing.  I  rose  immediately  and  begged  her  to 
accept  my  Chair.  She  answered  most  kindly,  c  Sir, 
I  thank  you,'  and  that  was  all  I  could  extract  from 
this  Wonder  of  her  Sex  for  the  two  days  of  the 
dance,  and  yet  I  seemed  to  have  an  equal  Share 
in  the  Favours  of  her  Conversation." 

Miss  Sally  Panton,  lately  come  from  England  to 
teach  Mr.  Turberville's  daughters  French  and  Eng 
lish,  creates  a  sensation  because  she  is  supposed  to 
have  brought  with  her  the  latest  London  fashions. 
"  Her  stays  are  huge,  giving  her  an  enormous  long 
Waist.  These  stays  are  suited  to  come  up  to  the 
upper  part  of  her  shoulders,  almost  to  her  chin  ;  and 
are  swaithed  round  her  as  low  as  they  can  possibly 
be,  allowing  her  no  liberty  to  walk  at  all.  To  be 
sure  this  is  a  vastly  Modest  Dress  !  "  The  stays  are 
all  right,  but  "  her  Head-Dress  not  to  the  liking 
of  the  Virginia  Ladies  "  being  arranged  low  on  the 
neck,  of  which  they  can,  on  no  account  approve. 
"Nevertheless,"  quoth  the  tutor,  "if  her  Principles 
of  Religion  and  her  Moral  Manner  be  unexception 
able  /  shall  think  her  Agreeable." 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        209 

The  last  picture  thrown  on  the  canvas  must  be 
another  Miss  Lee.  "A  tall,  slim,  genteel  Girl 
thirteen  years  old.  She  is  free  from  the  taciturnity 
of  Miss  Hale,  yet  by  no  means  disagreeably  for 
ward.  She  dances  extremely  well,  and  is  just  begin 
ning  to  play  on  the  Spinet.  She  is  drest  in  a  neat 
shell  Callico  Gown,  has  very  light  hair  done  up 
high  with  a  feather,  and  her  whole  carriage  is  easy 
and  graceful,  and  free  of  formality  and  Haughtiness, 
the  Common  foible  here." 

For  aught  we  know  to  the  contrary  this  charming 
young  lady  was  the  beauty  who  roused  an  anony 
mous  poet  to  alliterative  verse. 

"  May  mild  meridian  moonbeams  mantle  me 
With  laughing,  lisping  Lucy  Lightfoot  Lee." 

The  ingenuous  tutor  is  delightful.  Not  once 
does  he  interpret  the  freezing  manner,  the  haughti 
ness  and  formality  of  the  maidens  to  any  dislike 
of  himself.  Perhaps  it  did  not  exist;  his  suc 
cessor,  also  a  Presbyterian  tutor,  married  one  of 
them.  But  not  so,  I  fancy,  did  these  ladies  treat 
young  Harry  Lee  —  "our  Light-horse  Harry,"  the 
son  of  the  "  Lowland  Beauty  "  —  when  they  met  him 
at  the  Squire's  ball;  and  surely  not  thus  would  the 
young  junior  from  Princeton  College  have  been 
impressed  by  them.  One  peep  within  the  leaves 
of  that  Diary,  —  a  thing  impossible  to  the  veriest 
madcap  in  his  school,  —  and  all  would  have  been 


2io     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

over  for  the  Presbyterian  tutor,  albeit  he  and  young 
Harry  had  been  college  mates. 

Two  things  were  absolutely  necessary  in  the 
etiquette  of  the  minuet,  —  the  pointed  foot  must  be 
so  firm,  so  straight,  that  not  a  crease  or  wrinkle 
appeared  in  the  quilted  petticoat,  and,  of  course, 

this  quilt  must  be  of  a 
strength  and  richness  :  so 
rich,  indeed,  that  it  would 
"stand  alone,"  yielding 
not  in  dance  and  courtesy. 
Evidently  Miss  Hale  at 
fourteen,  and  Miss  Lee  at 
thirteen,  were  already  in 
society.  In  a  few  years, 
doubtless,  they  were  all 
married  to  Revolutionary 
officers,  two  or  three, 
sometimes  five,  of  them 
falling  in  course  of  time 

Mary  Ambler.  i_«      i  i   • 

to  his  lot,  as  was  usual  m 

that  day  of  short-lived  women.  As  we  have  seen, 
Catherine  Willis  —  afterwards  Princess  Murat  — 
married  at  thirteen. 

The  wife  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  Mary 
Ambler,  was  only  fourteen  years  old  when  she 
attended  the  Dunmore  ball  and  captured  the 
young  Captain  Marshall,  who  gave  the  only  guinea 
he  possessed  to  a  clergyman  for  marrying  him  soon 
after. 


Dinners,   Press,   Dana's,   Horse  races         III 

Arthur    1  ,ee   said,   "In    Virginia  a   man   is  old   at 
thirty  aiul    a  woman    at    twenty."     A    certain  little 


Chief  Justice  John  Marshall. 

Alice  Lee,  twelve  years  old,  wrote  this  remarkable 
letter  from  Stratford  in  1772  to  a  kinsman  in 
London.  (Doubtless  Miss  Alice  was  one  of  the 
dancers  at  Squire  Lee's  ball  two  years  later.) 


212     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Cf  So  you  threaten  me  if  I  prove  deficient  in  the 
deference  I  owe  you  as  a  married  man,  with  the 
power  you  have  of  forwarding  or  retarding  my 
success  in  the  Matrimonial  Way.1  This  would  be 
a  tremendous  threat  indeed  were  I  as  fond  of  Mat 
rimony  as  my  young  Mistress,  as  you  call  her,  but 
happily  I  am  little  more  than  twelve  years  old  and 
not  so  eager  to  tye  a  Knot  which  Death  alone  can 
Dissolve.  And  yet  I  pretend  not  to  ridicule  the 
holy  sacred  institution,  but  have  all  due  reverence 
for  that  and  the  worthy  people  who  have  entered 
into  the  Society,  from  good  and  generous  motives. 
It  is  only  those  who  chuse  to  be  married  at  all 
events  that  I  think  deserve  raillery.  ...  1  never 
saw  Westmoreland  so  dull.  I  was  at  Squire  Lee's 
when  your  letter  came.  He  is  the  veriest  Tramon 
tane  in  nature ;  if  ever  he  gets  married,  if  his  wife 
civilizes  him,  she  deserves  to  be  canonized. 

"  So  you  can't  forbear  a  fling  at  femalities ; 
believe  me  Curiosity  is  as  imputable  to  the  Sons  as 
the  Daughters  of  Eve.  Think  you  there  was  ever 
a  Lady  more  curious  than  our  Cousin  the  Squire  ? 
He  himself  is  the  greatest  of  all  curiosities,  but 
hang  him,  how  came  he  to  pop  twice  in  my  head 
while  I  was  writing  to  you  ! 

"  The  Annapolis  Races  Commence  the  6th  of 
October.  The  American  Compy  of  Players  are 
there  and  said  to  be  amazingly  improved.  I 

1  "Lee  of  Virginia,"  Edited  by  Dr.  Edward  Jennings  Lee. 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        213 

should    like    to    see    them,  as    I    think    Theatrical 
Entertainments  a  rational  amusement/' 

Clever  little  Mistress  Alice  !  Twelve  years  old, 
and  already  flirting  with  the  sixty-year-old  Squire 
Richard  Lee  Burgess  from  Westmoreland,  member 
of  the  Continental  Congress,  giver  of  five-day  balls; 
who  yet  found  time  to  gather  rosebuds,  for  he 
actually  married  sixteen-year-old  Sally  Poythress 
after  he  was  sixty-two  years  old. 

It  is  a  great  misfortune  to  us  that  our  observant 
tutor  was  not  invited  to  Mount  Vernon.  Mr. 
Christian's  class  met  at  Mount  Vernon,  also  at 
"Gunston  Hall"— the  fine  residence  of  the  George 
Mason  who  wrote  the  famous  Declaration  of  Rights 
in  1776.  Mrs.  Martha  Washington's  lovely 
daughter,  Martha  Custis,  was  then  just  thirteen 
years  old,  and  there  is  no  doubt,  not  the  least,  that 
she  wore  a  blue  silk  quilt  and  had  her  hair 
"craped"  (crepe]  high  and  interwoven  with  a 
feather.  On  the  i8th  of  April,  1770,  Washington 
records,  "  Patsy  Custis  and  Milly  Posey  went  to 
Col.  Mason's  to  the  Dancing  School." 

The  discipline  of  children  was  stern.  Their 
duties  included  the  courtesies  of  life  as  religiously 
as  its  business.  "I  have  no  Stockings  and  I  swear 
I  won't  go  to  the  Dancing  School,"  says  fifteen-year- 
old  Bob,  who  is  at  the  awkward  age  and  dreads 
society.  " '  Are  Bob  and  Nancy  gone  to  Mr. 
Turberville's  ? '  said  the  Colonel  at  Breakfast- 


214    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

c  Nancy  is  gone,  Sir,  Bob  stays  at  Home,  he  has  no 
shoes  ! '  c  Poh  —  what  nonsense,'  says  the  Colonel. 
He  sends  the  clerk  to  the  Plantation  Store  for  a 
pair  of  Shoes.  Bob  he  takes  to  his  Study  and  floggs 
severely  for  not  having  given  seasonable  notice,  and 
sends  him  instantly  to  the  Dance"  in  a  suitable  and 
proper  frame  of  mind  to  enjoy  himself! 

Balls,  fish  feasts,  christenings,  cock-fights,  horse 
races  and  church-going  filled  the  time  as  well  as 
visiting  and  dancing.  Everybody  went  to  church 
through  all  weathers.  In  winter  the  churches 
were  bitterly  cold.  No  provision  of  any  kind  for 
heating  them  was  ever  dreamed  of.  The  church 
was  one  of  the  rallying  places  for  the  neighbor 
hood.  "There  are,"  says  the  tutor,  "  three  grand 
divisions  of  time  at  the  church  on  Sundays ;  Viz  : 
before  Service  giving  and  receiving  letters  of  busi 
ness,  reading  Advertisements  "  (affixed  to  the  church- 
doors)  "  consulting  about  the  price  of  Tobacco, 
Grain,  &c,  and  settling  either  the  lineage,  Age  or 
qualities  of  favourite  Horses.  2.  In  the  church  at 
Service,  prayers  read  over  in  haste,  a  Sermon,  seldom 
under  and  never  over  twenty  minutes,  but  always 
made  up  of  sound  morality,  or  deep-studied  Meta- 
physicks.  3.  After  Service  is  over,  three  quarters 
of  an  hour  spent  in  strolling  round  the  church 
among  the  crowd  in  which  time  invitations  are 
given  by  gentlemen  to  go  home  with  them  to 
dinner." 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        215 

The  christenings  were  seasons  of  large  family 
gatherings  —  the  silver  christening  bowl,  like  the 
punch-bowl,  descending  from  generation  to  gen 
eration. 

There  were  no  "poor  whites"  —  the  helpless, 
hopeless,  anaemic  race  now  numerous  in  Virginia. 
There  were  well-instructed  men  and  women  in  the 
industrial  classes  who  filled  situations  as  visiting 
shoemakers,  weavers,  or  housekeepers.  The  Vir 
ginia  woman  in  "  The  Golden  Age  "  had  need  of 
all  the  help  she  could  get.  She  married  while  yet 
a  child  —  often  less  than  fifteen  years  old.  Her 
housekeeper  was  her  tower  of  strength.  She 
helped  generally  throughout  the  family,  nursing 
the  sick,  caring  for  the  children's  comfort,  and 
standing  sponsor  for  them  in  baptism.1  A  letter 
from  one  of  these  humble  retainers,  a  housekeeper 
at  Stratford,  somewhere  about  1774,  has  been  pre 
served  by  which  we  perceive  she  represented  the 
wife  of  Governor  Fauquier  at  a  christening. 

(Dated)         "  STRATFORD,  September  27. 

"To  Miss  MARTHA  CORBIN  —  Dear  Miss.  I  gladly 
embrace  this  oppertunity  of  writing  to  you  to  put  you  in 
mind  there  is  such  a  being  as  mySelfe.  I  did  not  think 
you  two  would  have  slited  me  so.  Your  little  cosen 
matilda  was  made  a  cristan  the  25th  of  September.  The 
godmothers  was  mrs  Washington  miss  becy  Tayloe  Miss 
Nancy  Lawson  Stod  proxse  for  Miss  Nelly  Lee  and  I  for 

1  "  Lee  of  Virginia." 


2i6     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Mrs  Fauquer,  godfathers  was  col.  Taloe  Mr  Robert  Carter 
mrs  Washington  Col  Frank  Lee,  the  Esq  :  mr  Washington 
and  your  ant  Lee  Dessers  there  Love  to  you  I  am  your 
very  humble  servant  Elizabeth  Jackson." 

It  is  easy  to  understand  why  Miss  Jackson 
should  have  dignified  all  the  Lees  who  employed 
her  with  large  capitals,  but  why  she  should  thus  have 
honored  Miss  Nancy  Lawson  above  "  mrs.  washing- 
ton  "  we  shall  never  know  in  this  world,  only,  as 
everybody  knows,  no  married  lady  —  even  Mrs. 
John  Augustine  Washington,  our  Mary's  daughter- 
in-law —  could  possibly  be  as  important  as  that  most 
worshipped  of  all  creatures,  a  Virginia  young  lady. 

As  to  the  race-horses,  we  cannot  begin  to  reckon 
their  increased  importance.  Janus  and  Yorick  are 
among  the  immortals  !  So  also  should  be  General 
Washington's  horses,  —  Ajax,  Blueskin,  Valiant,  and 
the  royal  Arabian  Magnolia.  Nor  should  Silver- 
eye  be  forgotten,  nor  the  lordly  Shakespeare,  for 
whose  service  a  groom  was  appropriated  to  sleep 
near  him  at  night  in  a  specially  built  recess,  that  his 
Lordship's  faintest  neigh  might  find  response. 

The  men  who  settled  the  Northern  Neck  of  Vir 
ginia  were  cavaliers  from  "  Merry  England,"  with 
an  inherited  love  of  horse-racing,  and,  indeed,  all 
sporting.  There  was  not  a  Roundhead  among 
them!  They  liked  cards  and  dancing.  'Nobody 
could  make  them  believe  that  the  devil  hunted 
with  the  hounds  and  ran  with  the  race-horses. 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        217 

The  early  Virginia  historians  wrote  at  length 
about  the  pedigrees  and  qualities  of  horses  and  the 
skill  of  their  riders.  The  old  court  records  have 
many  quaint  entries  of  disputes  about  "  faire  starts," 
and  citizens'  depositions  were  taken  to  settle  them; 
for  instance,  "Richard  Blande,  aged  21  yeares 
Deposeth  that  in  the  Race  run  between  John 
Brodnax  and  Capt.  William  Soane  now  in  tryall, 
the  horse  belonging  to  Henry  Randolph  on  w'cti 
Capt.  Soane  layed,  came  after  the  Start  first  between 
the  Poles  agreed  on  for  their  comeing  in,"  etc. 
William  Randolph's  task  was  more  difficult.  He 
"  Deposeth  in  ye  race  between  Wm.  Epes  and 
Mr.  Stephen  Cocke,"  that  the  latter  "  endeavoured 
to  gett  the  other's  path,  but  he  did  not  gett  it  at 
two  or  three  jumps  nor  many  more,  upon  w'ch  he 
josselled  on  Mr.  Epes'  path  all  most  part  of  ye 
Race." 

People  took  all  these  things  very  seriously,  and 
they  formed  the  subjects  of  conversation  until  the 
time  came  for  horse  and  rider  to  distinguish  them 
selves  in  a  sterner  field. 

The  horses  bred  in  Virginia  were  small,  fleet,  and 
enduring,  varying  little  from  the  early  English  ra 
cers,  —  the  immediate  descendants  of  the  Arabian 
horses.  There  was  a  fine  race-course  at  Fredericks- 
burg,  and  Mary  Washington's  relatives  and  friends 
appear  in  the  contests — her  sister-in-law's  husband, 
Roger  Gregory,  always  among  the  foremost.  He 


2i  8    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

ran  a  famous  mare,  Dimple ;  Mr.  Spotswood,  Fear- 
naught,  —  a  name  reasonably  to  be  expected  from 
John  Spotswood's  horse.  Then  there  were  Fashion, 
Eclipse,  Selima,  Ariel,  Why  Not?  (why,  indeed  ?), 
and  many  more.  Purses  from  ten  to  two  hundred 
guineas  or  pounds  were  the  prizes  ;  also  "  Saddles, 
Bridles,  Cups  and  Soop  Ladles." 

Lewis  Willis,  General  Washington's  first  cousin, 
worked  his  farm  principally  with  blooded  plough- 
horses.  The  dams  of  Maid  of  the  Oaks  and  Betsy 
Blue  were  plough-horses.  Maid  of  the  Oaks  —  the 
most  splendid  creature  ever  seen — sold  for  ^"15,000 
to  pay,  alas  !  a  security  debt.  For  this  astonishing 
statement  I  have  as  authority  Lewis  Willis's  son, 
Byrd  Willis,  —  father  of  the  Princess  Murat  and 
brother  of  the  Jack  Willis  so  loved  by  everybody 
and  by  none  more  than  General  Washington  him 
self.  These  were  splendid,  jovial  fellows,  full  of 
anecdote  and  inexhaustible  humor.  Colonel  Byrd 
Willis  left  a  diary  of  the  good  times  of  his  day. 

But,  alas  for  all  the  good  times,  the  little  cloud 
no  bigger  than  a  man's  hand  in  1766  was  now 
darkening  the  Northern  sky.  The  Gazette,  that 
had  chronicled  so  many  merry  days,  gave  its  col 
umns  to  a  warning  note  (July  21,  1774)  from  "a 
Virginian,"  recommending  that  Fredericksburg  sus 
pend  its  races  and  contribute  purses  to  the  people 
of  Boston  ;  and,  indeed,  there  was  no  more  record 
of  a  race  before  the  Revolution. 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        219 

The  Presbyterian  tutor,  from  whom  we  must  now 
part,  was  a  candidate  for  the  ministry,  but  saw  much 
to  admire  and  little  to  condemn  in  the  social  life  of 
the  Virginians.  He  had  been  warned  "  that  Vir 
ginia  is  sickly  —  that  the  people  there  are  profane, 
and  exceeding  wicked.  That  there  I  shall  read  no 
Calvinistic  Books,  nor  hear  any  Presbyterian  Ser 
mons."  He  finds  himself  under  no  more  nor 
stronger  temptations  to  any  kind  of  vice  —  perhaps 
not  so  great  —  as  at  home,  "  unless  sometimes 
when  I  am  solicited  to  dance  I  am  forced  to 
blush"  not  because  of  its  wickedness  —  Oh,  no! 
—  but  "  because  of  my  Inability  !  I  Wish  it  had 
been  a  part  of  my  Education  to  learn  an  innocent 
and  ornamental  qualification  for  a  person  to  appear 
even  decent  in  Company  !  " 

This  impartial  observer  of  the  times  in  which 
Mary  Washington  lived  sums  up  the  Virginians 
thus :  "  The  people  are  extremely  hospitable  and 
Polite  —  universal  characteristics  of  a  gentleman  in 
Virginia.  Some  swear  bitterly,  but  the  practice 
seems  to  be  generally  disapproved.  I  have  heard 
that  this  Country  is  notorious  for  Gaming,  how 
ever  this  may  be  I  have  not  seen  a  Pack  of  Cards^ 
nor  a  Die  since  I  left  home,  nor  gaming  nor  Betting 
of  any  kind  except  at  the  Races.  The  Northern 
Neck  is  a  most  delightful  country  —  the  best  people 
are  remarkable  for  regularity  and  economy,  civil 
and  polite  and  of  the  highest  quality  in  Virginia  — 


220    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

well  acquainted  with  the  formality  and  ceremony 
which  we  find  commonly  in  High  Life  —  sensible, 
judicious,  much  given  to  retirement  and  study," 
etc.,  at  length,  of  which  the  above  extract  is  a  fair 
example. 

Another  tutor,  one  John  Davis,  presumably  a 
Welshman,  who  spent,  and  wrote  of,  "  Four  and 
a  Half  Years  in  America,"  described  the  Virginians 
of  George  Washington's  time  and  neighborhood 
and  the  church  he  attended  :  — 

"  No  people  could  exceed  these  men  in  polite 
ness.  On  the  piazza  of  Mr.  Thornton's  tavern  I 
found  a  party  of  gentlemen  from  the  neighboring 
plantations  carousing  over  a  bowl  of  toddy  and 
smoking  cigars.  On  my  ascending  the  steps  to  the 
piazza,  every  countenance  seemed  to  say, £  This  man 
has  a  double  claim  to  our  attention,  for  he  is  a 
stranger  in  the  place.'  In  a  moment  room  was 
made  for  me  to  sit  down ;  a  new  bowl  was  called 
for,  and  every  one  who  addressed  me  did  it  with  a 
smile  of  conciliation.  But  no  man  questioned  me 
whence  I  had  come,  or  whither  I  was  going.  A 
gentleman  in  every  country  is  the  same  —  and  if 
good  breeding  consists  in  sentiment,  it  was  found  in 
the  circle  I  had  got  into. 

"  The  higher  Virginians  seem  to  venerate  them 
selves  as  men  !  I  am  persuaded  there  was  not  one 
in  that  company  who  would  have  felt  embarrassed 
at  being  admitted  to  the  presence  and  conversation 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        221 

of  the  greatest  monarch  on  earth.  There  is  a  com 
pound  of  virtue  and  vice  in  every  human  character. 
No  man  was  ever  faultless;  but  whatever  may  be  ad 
vanced  against  Virginians,  their  good  qualities  will  ever 
outweigh  their  defects  ;  and  when  the  effervescence 
of  youth  has  abated,  when  reason  reasserts  her  empire, 
there  is  no  man  on  earth  who  discovers  more  exalted 
sentiments,  more  contempt  of  baseness,  more  love 
of  justice,  more  sensibility  of  feeling,  than  a  Vir 
ginian.  ...  I  found  at  the  taverns  every  luxury 
that  money  can  purchase  ;  the  richest  viands  cov 
ered  the  table,  and  ice  cooled  the  Madeira  that  had 
been  thrice  across  the  ocean.  About  eight  miles 
away  was  Powbeek  (Pohick)  church  —  a  name  it 
claims  from  a  run  that  flows  near  its  walls.  Hither 
I  rode  on  Sundays  and  joined  the  congregation  of 
Parson  Weems"  [our  friend  of  the  hatchet  and  cherry 
tree!]  "a  minister  of  the  Episcopal  persuasion,  who 
was  cheerful  in  his  mien  that  he  might  win  men  to 
religion.  A  Virginian  church-yard  on  a  Sunday, 
resembles  rather  a  race-course  than  a  sepulchral 
ground.  The  ladies  come  to  it  in  coaches,  and  the 
men,  after  dismounting  from  their  horses,  make 
them  fast  to  the  trees.  The  steeples  to  Virginia 
churches  were  designed  not  for  utility  but  orna 
ment  ;  for  the  bell  is  always  suspended  to  a  tree 
a  few  yards  from  the  church.  I  was  confounded  on 
first  entering  the  church-yard  at  Powheek  to  hear 
c  Steed  threaten  steed  with  high  and  boastful  neigh,' 


222    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

nor  was  I  less  stunned  with  the  rattling  of  wheels, 
the  cracking  of  whips,  and  the  vociferations  of  the 
gentlemen  to  the  negroes  who  accompanied  them. 
One  half  the  congregation  was  composed  of  white 
people,  the  other  of  negroes,  and  Parson  Weems 
preached  the  great  doctrines  of  salvation  as  one  who 
had  experienced  their  power." 

The  Welsh  tutor,  Davis,  and  the  American  tutor 
and  patriot,  Fithian,  wrote  thus  of  the  Virginians 
of  Mary  Washington's  day,  as  they  saw  and  knew 
them.  Their  horizon  was  limited  to  a  few  repre 
sentative  families  in  one  or  two  neighborhoods. 
But  a  great  and  good  man  of  the  present  genera 
tion —  wise,  truthful,  candid  —  has  thus  recorded  his 
opinion  of  the  Virginians  of  that  period.  Says  John 
Fiske  :  "  On  the  whole  it  was  a  noble  type  of  rural 
gentry  that  the  Old  Dominion  had  to  show.  Manly 
simplicity,  love  of  home  and  family,  breezy  activity, 
disinterested  public  spirit,  thorough  wholesomeness 
and  integrity,  —  such  were  the  features  of  the  society 
whose  consummate  flower  was  George  Washington.'* 

This  section  of  Virginia  could  boast  a  society, 
more  exclusive,  if  possible,  than  that  of  the  James 
River  region.  It  was  free  from  the  mixed  and 
motley  crowd  which  infested  Williamsburg.  Some 
what  remote  from  the  commercial  centre,  the  life  was 
that  of  the  landed  gentry  in  England ;  quieter,  more 
conservative,  more  leisurely  and  elegant  than  the 
society  gathered  in  towns. 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        223 

Thomson  Mason  of  the  Northern  Neck,  provid 
ing  in  his  will  for  the  education  of  his  sons,  adds, 
"  but  I  positively  direct  that  neither  of  my  sons 
shall  reside  on  the  South  Side  of  James  River  until 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  lest  they  should  imbibe 
more  exalted  notions  of  their  own  importance  than 
I  could  wish  any  child  of  mine  to  possess."  Already 
there  was  a  protest  against  a  certain  lofty  manner  in 
vogue  among  the  planters.  Fashions  that  had  lasted 
long  began  to  change. 

With  the  passing  of  the  century  Virginia's  pic 
turesque  Golden  Age  passed,  never  to  return  in  the 
history  of  this  country. 

Even  while  Washington  lived  and  held  his  stately 
court,  —  powdered,  in  full  court-dress,  sword  at  side, 
and  no  "  hand-shake  "  for  the  crowd  at  his  levees,  — 
even  then  the  Golden  Age,  the  age  dominated  by 
English  influence,  had  passed.  England  was  no 
longer  the  authority  in  manner  and  dress.  The 
people  wished  none  of  her  customs,  traditions,  or 
principles.  Naturally  their  hearts  had  turned  to  the 
French.  The  emancipated  Englishman  cared  no 
more  for  family  trees,  still  less  for  armorial  bear 
ings.  When  Bishop  Meade  travelled  through  Vir 
ginia  to  cull  material  for  his  history  of  the  old 
families,  he  found  them  reluctant  to  acknowledge 
the  possession  of  a  coat  of  arms  or  to  confess  a 
descent  from  English  nobility.  "  They  seemed 
ashamed  of  it.  Everybody  became  a  c  Democrat/ 


224    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

a  'patriot,'  and  in  the  abstract  at  least  can  advocate 
of  the  rights  of  man.'  Many  families  who  were 
properly  entitled  to  arms,  lost  the  evidence  of  it  in 
the  general  neglect  which  blighted  the  tree  of  pedi 
gree."  The  manner  in  which  Jefferson,  in  the 
opening  of  his  autobiography,  almost  sneers  at  armo 
rial  bearings  reflects  the  feeling  of  Virginia  for  many 
years  after  the  Revolution. 

Judge  N.  Beverley  Tucker  prefaces  a  family  history 
with  these  words,  "  At  this  day  it  is  deemed  arrogant 
to  remember  one's  ancestors."  Nous  avons  change 
tout  cela  !  At  this  day  it  is  suicidal  to  forget  them  ! 

In  presenting  these  pictures  of  social  life  in  Vir 
ginia  in  the  eighteenth  century,  I  have  been  careful 
to  accept  the  testimony  only  of  those  who  were 
actually  a  part  of  it.  It  has  become  the  fashion  to 
idealize  that  old  society  as  something  better  than  our 
own.  It  had  its  charm  of  stateliness,  of  punctilious 
etiquette,  of  cordial  hospitality ;  its  faults  of  pom 
pous  manner,  of  excess  and  vanity,  differing  as 
conditions  have  changed,  only  in  type  and  expres 
sion,  from  similar  blemishes  in  our  own  manners 
of  to-day ;  neither  better  nor  worse,  perhaps,  as  the 
years  have  passed.  In  all  that  is  understood  by  the 
word  "  society  "  we  find  many  points  of  resemblance, 
a  family  likeness,  in  fact,  to  metropolitan  society  in 
the  nineteenth  century. 

Has  the  reader  ever  sought  an  intelligent  defini 
tion  of  the  term  "  society  "  ? 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        225 

"Society,"  says  Noah  Webster,  "is  specifically 
the  more  cultivated  portion  of  any  community,  in 
its  social  relations  and  influence  ;  those  who  give 
and  receive  formal  entertainments  mutually."  This 
sounds  reasonable  enough,  but  the  literary  world  of 
to-day,  if  we  may  credit  some  of  its  shining  lights, 
takes  exception  at  the  word  "  cultivated." 

"Society,"  says  Bishop  Huntington,  in  his  "  Draw 
ing-room  Homily,"  "is  something  too  formless  for 
an  institution,  too  irregular  for  an  organization,  too 
vital  for  a  machine,  too  heartless  for  a  fraternity,  too 
lawless  for  a  school.  It  is  a  state  wherein  all  realism 
is  suppressed  as  brutal,  all  natural  expression  or 
frank  sign  of  true  feeling  as  distasteful  and  startling. 
Its  subjects  are  more  prostrate  than  the  slaves  of 
the  East  before  the  Padishah  !  The  individual  finds 
everything  decided  for  him.  Provided  he  imitates 
copies,  and  repeats  his  models,  he  knows  all  that  he 
need  know,  and  has  entered  into  salvation." 

Evidently,  neither  now,  nor  in  the  Arcadian  days 
of  Virginia's  Golden  Age,  has  society  seen  fit  to 
adopt  the  motto  inscribed  on  the  palace  gates  of  the 
young  Alexander  Severus,  "  Let  none  enter  here 
save  the  pure  in  heart."  One,  than  whom  none 
knows  it  better,  has  declared  it  to  be  to-day  "  a 
garden  of  flowers  where  c  sweets  compacted  lie.' 
But  underneath  the  roses  lurks  a  subtle  and  veno 
mous  serpent  whose  poison  already  threatens  the  fair 
and  beloved  of  the  land." 


226    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

These  eminent  satirists  are  part  of  the  society 
they  condemn.  They  know  it  well.  And  yet  we 
would  fain  find  comfort  in  the  summing  up  of 
another  who  also  knew  it  well.  "  Society,"  says 
Emerson,  "  is  something  too  good  for  banning,  too 
bad  for  blessing.  In  attempting  to  settle  its  char 
acter,  we  are  reminded  of  a  tradition  in  pagan  my 
thology.  c  I  overheard  Jove/  said  Silenus,  ( talking 
of  destroying  the  earth.  He  said  he  had  failed ; 
they  were  all  rogues  and  vixens  going  from  bad  to 
worse.  Minerva  said  she  hoped  not ;  they  were 
only  ridiculous  little  creatures  with  this  odd  cir 
cumstance, —  if  you  called  them  bad,  they  would 
appear  so;  if  good,  they  would  appear  good,  —  and 
there  was  no  one  person  among  them  which  would 
not  puzzle  her  owl  —  much  more  all  Olympus  —  to 
know  whether  it  was  fundamentally  good  or  bad/  ' 

But  whether  or  no  society  be  fundamentally  good 
or  bad,  its  doings  have  been  in  all  ages  interesting. 
Max  O'Rell  declares  that  the  upper  ten  thousand 
are  alike  all  over  the  world ;  that  the  million  only 
—  as  affording  original  types — are  interesting.  He 
is  wrong.  The  world  cares  more  for  the  fortunate 
few  than  for  the  ordinary  mass  of  mankind.  Why 
do  we  find  in  every  journal  of  the  day  long  col 
umns  filled  with  the  comings  and  goings,  the  up 
risings  and  down-sittings  of  our  wealthy  classes  ? 
Why  do  readers  never  complain  of  the  monotonous 
round  of  their  travels  ?  People  prick  up  their  ears 


Dinners,  Dress,  Dances,  Horse-races        227 

and  listen  whenever  the  word  "society"  is  uttered, 
although  fully  aware  that  half  we  read  is  invented 
to  meet  the  hunger  of  the  multitude  for  society 
news. 

Everybody  wants  a  glimpse  of  that  gallant  vessel 
bearing  the  elect  so  gayly  down  the  stream  of  time, 
—  the  stream  so  full  of  bitter  waters  to  many.  They 
are  more  interesting,  these  voyagers  in  the  painted 
pleasure  boat,  than  the  poor  man  who  shades  his 
eyes  with  his  rough  hand  to  gaze  as  they  pass. 
They  are  even  more  interesting  than  the  crowd 
running  along  to  cheer,  or  swimming  in  the  wake 
for  the  possible  chance  of  being  taken  on  board. 
There  they  go  !  —  the  happy  hundreds  —  a  "merry 
chanter  "  at  the  prow,  a  merry  crew  in  the  rigging ; 
music,  song,  the  flash  of  jewels,  the  perfume  of 
flowers  mingling  with  everyday  sights,  and  sounds 
of  everyday  life. 

We  may  assure  ourselves  that  it  is  possible  to  be 
happy  on  board  some  other  vessel,  with  a  better 
pilot,  and  bound  for  a  better  port,  but  life  is  serious 
on  that  vessel.  We  like  to  be  amused,  and  are 
keenly  interested  in  those  gayer  voyagers. 


PART   II 


CHAPTER    I 

THE    LITTLE    CLOUD 

IT  seems  to  have  been  hard  for  England  to  take 
her     American      colonies      seriously.       "  The 
gentlemen  of  the  opposition  on  the  other  side 
of  the  water  "  were  regarded  as  inferiors,  or,  at  best, 
troublesome  children,  to  be  dealt  with  accordingly, 
and  taught  to  know  —  and  keep  —  their  places. 

As  early  as  1766  a  "  Planter"  on  the  banks  of 
the  Potomac  addressed  a  letter  to  "  The  Merchants 
of  London,"  and  printed  in  the  London  Public 
Ledger,  in  which  he  says  :  "  The  epithets  of  c  parent 
and  child '  have  been  so  long  applied  to  Great  Brit 
ain  and  her  colonies  that  individuals  have  adopted 
them,  and  we  rarely  see  anything  from  your  side  of 
the  water  free  from  the  authenticated  style  of  a  mas 
ter  to  a  schoolboy.  He  seems  to  say,  c  We  have, 
with  infinite  difficulty  and  fatigue,  got  you  excused 
this  time ;  pray  be  a  good  boy  for  the  future ;  do 
what  your  papa  and  mamma  bid  you,  and  hasten  to 
return  them  your  most  grateful  acknowledgments 
for  condescending  to  let  you  keep  what  is  your  own. 
If  you  are  a  naughty  boy,  and  turn  obstinate,  and 
don't  mind  what  your  papa  and  mamma  say  to  you, 

231 


232    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

and  pretend  to  judge  for  yourself  when  you  are  not 
arrived  at  years  of  discretion  or  capable  of  distin 
guishing  between  good  and  evil,  then  everybody 
will  hate  you ;  your  parents  and  masters  will  be 
obliged  to  whip  you  severely,  and  their  friends 
will  blame  them.1  See  what  you  have  brought 
this  child  to !  If  he  had  been  well  scourged  at 
first  for  opposing  your  absolute  will  and  pleasure 
and  daring  to  think  he  had  any  such  thing  as  prop 
erty  of  his  own,  he  would  not  have  had  the  impu 
dence  to  repeat  the  crime/' 

The  first  word  of  resistance  to  the  enforcement 
of  the  Stamp  Act  came  from  the  Northern  Neck  of 
Virginia.  At  Leeds,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  born 
in  the  same  county  and  same  year  with  George 
Washington,  wrote  a  set  of  resolutions  which  were 
unanimously  adopted  by  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
of  the  most  influential  of  his  neighbors.  No  Vir 
ginian  could  be  legally  tried  but  by  his  peers.  No 
Virginian  (for  were  they  not  all  British  subjects  ?) 
could  be  taxed  but  by  consent  of  a  parliament  in 
which  he  is  represented  by  persons  chosen  by  the 
people.  "  Any  person  using  the  stamp  paper  was 
an  abandoned  wretch,  lost  to  virtue  and  public 
good ! "  They  bound  themselves  to  resist  and 
punish  such  persons ;  and  at  the  utmost  risk  of 
lives  and  fortunes  to  protect  any  and  every  citizen 
who  should  suffer  persecution  because  of  adherence 
to  these  resolutions. 


The  Little  Cloud  233 

This  was  in  1766.  The  defiant  paper  was  signed 
by  Mary  Washington's  three  sons,  —  Samuel,  Charles, 
and  John  Augustine,  —  also  by  Dr.  Mortimer,  her 
family  physician.  The  Stamp  Act  was  soon  re 
pealed,  and  the  stir  and  excitement  naturally  sub 
sided.  Several  years  later  a  tax  on  tea,  glass,  and 
paper  awakened  it  again.  Even  then  there  was  no 
apprehension  of  danger.  Nobody  dreamed  of  final 
separation  from  England.  The  little  cloud  had 
been  no  bigger  than  a  man's  hand;  it  was  resting 
on  the  distant  horizon  and  would  give  trouble  to 
nobody. 

In  1766  the  odious  Stamp  Act  was  repealed.  In 
1767  a  new  and  more  oppressive  duty  was  laid  on 
glass,  paper,  and  tea.  England,  in  the  next  year, 
drew  back  again  and  repealed  this  later  tax,  except 
ing  only  the  tax  on  tea,  "for,"  said  Lord  North,  "a 
total  repeal  cannot  be  thought  of  until  America  lies 
prostrate  at  our  feet." 

Virginia  retaliated  by  her  non-importation  reso 
lutions,  binding  herself  to  import  nothing  from 
England  until  the  obnoxious  impost  should  be  re 
pealed.  Every  known  article  of  luxury  in  living  or 
dress  was  specified  in  her  proscribed  list,  except  — 
oh,  wise  and  prudent  burgesses  !  —  "  women's  bon 
nets  and  hats,  sewing  silk  and  netting  silk  !  " 

The  resolutions  were  signed  by  170  Virginians, 
including  George  Washington,  Spencer  Ball,  Sam 
uel  Eskridge,  and  the  Lees,  Tayloes,  Corbins, 


234    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Carters,  and  others  of  Mary  Washington's  family, 
friends,  and  neighbors  in  the  Northern  Neck. 
The  firmest  spirit  pervaded  the  assembly.  At  its 
close,  the  Gazette  goes  on  to  say,  "  the  whole  com 
pany  walked  in  procession  from  the  Capitol  to  the 
Raleigh  Tavern,  where  loyal  and  patriotic  toasts 
were  drunk  —  the  King,  the  Queen  and  Royal 
family,  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  the  Duke  of 
Richmond,  Lord  Chatham,  Lord  Camden,  Lord 
Shelburne,  British  Liberty  in  America."  Warming 
up  after  half  a  score  of  glasses,  somebody  gave, 
"  May  the  Efforts  of  Virginia,  joined  with  her  Sister 
Colonies  in  the  Cause  of  Liberty,  be  crowned  with 
Success;"  and  then,  warmer  still,  and  jealously  fear 
ful  of  discourtesy  to  the  government  it  had  just 
defied  (for  a  gentleman  must  be  polite  on  his  own 
soil)  this  toast  was  enthusiastically  presented  and 
applauded,  "  May  the  Rose  flourish,  the  Thistle 
grow,  and  the  Harp  be  tuned  to  the  cause  of  Ameri 
can  Liberty  !  " 

A  fine  "  schoolboy  "  this,  loving  liberty,  loving 
fun,  too  much  in  love  with  happiness  to  bear  malice  ! 

It  was  not  long  before  the  schoolboy  had  a  fine 
chance  for  a  frolic.  Ships  laden  with  tea  appeared 
in  Boston  harbor.  A  party  disguised  as  American 
Indians  boarded  the  ships  and  threw  the  cargo  over 
board.  This  was  more  than  any  indulgent  parent 
could  be  expected  to  stand.  The  schoolboy  must 
be  shut  up  in  a  closet,  and  the  key  turned  on  him. 


The  Little  Cloud  235 

The  port  of  Boston  was  ordered  by  Act  of  Parlia 
ment  to  be  closed  ! 

And  now  Richard  Henry  Lee's  "  Committee  of 
Correspondence  and  Communication  with  the  Sister 
Colonies  "  came  into  active  service.  Of  course  the 
governor  had  dissolved  the  assembly  that  adopted 
it.  He  was  too  late  !  From  the  moment  of  its 
adoption  expresses  were  flying  from  Massachusetts 
to  Virginia,  back  and  forth,  with  details  of  every 
step  in  the  progress  of  events.  William  Lee  wrote 
from  London  that  "  this  inter-colonial  consultation 
had  struck  a  greater  panic  in  the  ministers  than  all 
that  had  taken  place  since  the  Stamp  Act."  The 
expresses  travelled  fast.  Not  for  nothing  had  the 
Virginians  bred  fleet  horses  and  trained  fearless 
riders !  It  was  said  of  those  riders  that  "  they 
must  almost  have  flown,"  so  promptly  did  the 
pulse  in  Virginia  respond  to  the  heart-throb  in 
Massachusetts. 

The  news  from  Boston  was  overwhelming.  Not 
only  was  the  port  to  be  closed  as  punishment  —  the 
thumb-screw  drew  still  closer.  Parliament  passed  an 
u  Act  whereby  the  People  of  Boston  shall  have  no 
power  of  trying  any  Soldier  or  Person  for  com 
mitting  any  crime :  all  such  offenders  to  be  sent 
Home  for  legal  Tryal."  14  Geo.  Ill,  c.  39. 

The  Virginia  leaders  were  not  surprised.  The 
little  cloud,  no  bigger  than  a  man's  hand  in  1766, 
had  never  disappeared  altogether.  For  ten  years 


236    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

the  storm  had  been  gathering.  The  sky  was  now 
overcast,  the  thunder  was  heard,  the  tempest  was  at 
hand.  With  a  keen  realization  of  all  that  resistance 
implied,  some  of  them  hesitated.  Many  of  them 
were  descendants  of  the  royalists  who  had  come 
over  after  the  execution  of  Charles  the  First.  They 
knew  what  revolution  meant !  The  halter  and  the 
scaffold  were  still  vivid  in  their  traditions. 

When  the  news  came  of  the  Act  of  Parliament 
closing  the  port,  the  House  of  Burgesses  was  in 
session.  They  ordained  "  a  day  of  solemn  fasting, 
humiliation  and  prayer,  devoutly  to  implore  the 
Divine  interposition  for  averting  a  heavy  calamity 
which  threatens  the  civil  rights  of  America.'* 

Every  man,  one  would  think,  has  a  right  to 
humble  himself,  abstain  from  food,  and  pray 
God  for  help  in  time  of  trouble.  Not  so  thought 
his  Excellency,  Governor  Dunmore.  Summoning 
the  Honorable  —  the  House  of  Burgesses  —  to  his 
Council  Chamber,  he  spoke  to  them  thus  :  "  Mr. 
Speaker  and  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
I  have  in  my  hand  a  paper  published  by  order  of 
your  House  conceived  in  such  terms  as  reflect 
highly  upon  his  Majesty  and  the  Parliament  of 
Great  Britain,  which  makes  it  necessary  for  me  to 
dissolve  you,  and  you  are  dissolved  accordingly.' 

So,  then,  the  guardians  of  the  colony  were  to  be 
sent  home  to  do  their  fasting  and  praying  in  private, 
and  perchance  repent  or  hold  their  tongues,  at  least. 


The  Little  Cloud 

But  just  here  the  unexpected  happened.  While 
the  Virginians  were  growing  more  and  more  hostile 
to  Lord  Dunmore  and  treating  him  with  ill-disguised 
contempt,  his  family  arrived  at  Williamsburg,  — 
the  Right  Honorable,  the  Countess  of  Dunmore, 
Lord  Fincastle,  and  the  Ladies  Catherine,  Augusta, 
and  Susan  Murray. 

Here  was  a  pretty 
state  of  things,  —  dis- 
tinguished  strangers 
arriving  on  Virginia  soil 
and  Virginia  on  the  eve 
of  a  political  earthquake. 
However,  there  was  but 
one  way  out  of  the  dif 
ficulty, — hospitality  and 
hostility  both  claiming 
the  hour,  hostility  must 
step  aside  for  a  while. 
There  was  time  for  all 
things.  There  must  be 

an  illumination  of  course ;  and  if  the  ladies  smiled 
as  they  entered  Williamsburg  in  their  chariot  drawn 
by  six  white  horses,  they  must  receive  acclamations 
in  return. 

They  did  smile.  They  made  a  most  agreeable 
impression.  The  Virginia  Gazette  declared  next  day 
that  the  arrival  of  the  countess  gave  inexpressible 
pleasure,  that  she  was  a  very  elegant  woman,  that 


238     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

her  daughters  were  "fine,  sprightly  girls,"  and  that 
"  goodness  of  heart  flashed  from  them  in  every 
look." 

Before  they  turned  into  the  great  palace  gates 
they  had  won  all  hearts.  They  were  the  guests  of 
the  colony.  Already  a  herald  had  published  a 
Court  Etiquette,  whose  leaflets  were  in  the  hands 
of  the  pretty  Jacqueline  and  Ambler  girls.  The 
finishing  touch  of  courtly  grace  and  usage  was  to 
be  given  to  the  high-born  Virginia  beauties. 

True,  there  was  small  time  now  to  study  court 
etiquette,  but  a  little  delay  could  not  matter  much. 
Whether  it  did  or  no,  hospitality  was  the  prime, 
sacred,  delightful  duty  of  the  hour. 

Accordingly,  the  gentlemen  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses  caused  the  Gazette  to  announce  a  "  Ball 
at  the  Capital  to  Welcome  Lady  Dunmore  and 
her  Family  to  Virginia."  The  Apollo,  which 
still  echoed  Henry's  eloquence  and  Washington's 
appeal  for  Boston,  was  hastily  made  ready  ;  and  the 
men  who  had  been  most  bitter  in  the  morning  in 
their  denunciation  of  the  Port  Bill  bowed  low  in  the 
evening  to  the  Countess  of  Dunmore,  and  led  her 
and  her  daughters  with  grave  courtesy  through  the 
stately  figures  of  the  minuet. 

Presently  it  is  all  over.  The  last  note  dies  upon 
the  strings,  the  lights  burn  low  in  the  coming  dawn, 
parting  words  are  whispered,  —  "adieu"  not  " au 
revoir"  —  and  the  hands  that  had  touched  with 


The  Little  Cloud  239 

refined  finger-tips  harden  themselves  for  the  gauntlet 
and  the  sword.  No  matter,  now  her  ladyship  has 
been  suitably  welcomed,,  how  soon  she  runs  away 
with  her  pretty  daughters  from  the  guns  and  finds 
refuge  on  the  Fowey !  The  sooner  the  better,  in 
fact. 

But  before  that  could  happen  Lady  Dunmore 
had  time  to  become  immensely  popular  in  Williams- 
burg.  The  Gazette  was  forever  printing  verses  in 
her  praise.  The  burgesses  were  welcomed  to  the 
handsome  "  palace  "  of  their  governor,  —  the  palace 
of  which  they  were  so  proud,  with  its  "  imposing 
cupola,  lit  at  night  on  public  occasions,  its  ample 
green  lawn  in  front,  its  artificial  lakes,  gardens  and 
terraces."  Lady  Dunmore  gave  an  afternoon  re 
ception  on  Queen  Charlotte's  birthday  when  her 
youngest  child  was  christened  Virginia  in  compli 
ment  to  the  Old  Dominion.  Everybody  was  invited 
at  night  to  join  the  royal  party  in  a  splendid  ball  in 
honor  of  the  Queen's  birthday. 

"  The  Mimic  Court  at  Williamsburg  was  exerting 
all  its  powers  to  please,  but  the  patriots  were  not 
to  be  turned  aside."  They  could  draw  the  velvet 
glove  over  the  gauntlet  to  pleasure  a  lady,  but  the 
gauntlet  was  there,  nevertheless,  and  the  gauntlet 
was  of  steel. 

We  are  impressed  in  reading  of  all  this,  with  the 
punctilious  etiquette  of  Williamsburg  society  which 
forbade  the  intrusion  of  politics  into  the  social  life. 


240    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Lord  Dunmore  had  been  regarded  with  suspicion 
and  distrust  from  the  moment  of  his  arrival  in  1772. 
He  was  perfectly  aware  of  the  feeling  of  the  First 
Assembly  which  met  under  his  administration. 
Colonel  Washington  was  a  member  of  that  assem 
bly,  and  had  been  present — and  active  —  at  the 
consultations  on  public  affairs  held  in  the  old 
Raleigh  tavern.  Yet,  but  for  the  death  of  Miss 
Custis,  he  would  have  been  Dunmore's  companion 
when  he  journeyed  to  Western  Virginia  to  purchase 
land. 

He  dined  with  Lord  Dunmore  a  few  days  before 
the  couriers  brought  news  of  the  Act  of  Parliament 
closing  the  port  at  Boston.  Nobody  was  more 
resolute  than  he  in  denunciation  of  that  act,  and  in 
support  of  the  resolutions  of  "  sympathy  for  our 
distressed  fellow-subjects  of  Boston."  At  that  mo 
ment  his  pocket  held  an  accepted  invitation  to  dine 
with  the  governor.  He  did  so  dine,  spent  the  even 
ing  with  him,  probably  the  night,  too,  for  he  break 
fasted  with  him  the  next  day  at  his  farm.  Two  of 
Lord  Dunmore's  sons  were  students  at  William  and 
Mary  College.  To  all  outward  appearance  every 
thing  was  going  well  and  smoothly  among  good 
friends  and  neighbors. 

The  fast  was  appointed  for  the  first  day  of  June, 
1774.  The  port  was  to  be  closed  on  the  fourth.  On 
that  day  Washington  wrote  in  his  diary,  "  Fasted 
all  day  and  went  to  .Church."  George  Mason,  of 


The  Little  Cloud 


241 


"  Gunston    Hall,"    in    the    Northern    Neck    wrote 
home,  "  Please   tell   my    dear   little   family    that    I 


Robert  Carter  of  Nomini  Hall. 


desire  my  three  eldest  sons  and  my  two  eldest 
daughters  may  attend  church  in  mourning." 
His  friend  and  neighbor,  Robert  Carter,  ordered 


242     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

differently.  "  No  one  must  go  from  hence  to 
church  or  observe  this  fast  at  all."  Not  yet  were 
all  the  colonists  prepared  to  follow  Washington, 
Jefferson,  Henry,  Mason,  and  Lee  in  defiance 
to  the  British  Crown ! 

The  fast  was  generally  observed.  The  governor, 
it  appears,  had  no  power  to  prevent  it.  The  time 
had  not  yet  come  when  Virginia  patriots,  to  avoid 
his  interference,  must  hold  their  conferences  in  old 
St.  John's  Church  at  Richmond.  At  Williamsburg 
a  sermon  was  preached  from  the  text,  "  Help,  Lord  ! 
for  the  godly  man  ceaseth,  for  the  faithful  fail  from 
among  the  children  of  men." 

The  tea  was  sealed  up  and  destroyed,  and  money 
and  provisions  ordered  to  be  sent  to  Boston.  The 
counties  were  canvassed  for  these,  and  they  were 
immediately  forwarded. 

The  Virginia  women  entered  with  enthusiasm  into 
all  schemes  for  sending  help  to  their  "  distressed 
fellow-subjects  in  Boston,"  and  applauded  Colonel 
Washington  when  he  declared  that  "  he  was  ready  to 
raise  one  thousand  men,  subsist  them  at  his  own 
expense  and  march  at  their  head  to  Massachusetts." 

The  colonial  dames  packed  away  in  lavender- 
scented  chests  all  their  imported  finery,  their 
"  quilts  "  and  brocades,  and  clothed  themselves  in 
homespun  or  in  mourning,  destroying  or  sealing 
up  their  precious  stock  of  tea,  and  regarding  with 
unfriendly  eyes  a  certain  dame  who  continued  to 


The  Little  Cloud  243 

indulge  in  the  proscribed  luxury.  It  seems  hard, 
poor  lady,  that  she  should  come  down  in  history  as 
the  only  one  who  thus  transgressed,  "  who  con 
tinued  to  sip  her  tea  in  her  closet  after  it  was  ban 
ished  from  every  table,"  and  that  even  her  name 
and  lineage  should  be  given  by  an  irreverent  his 
torian  !  This  was  no  other  than  Kate  Spotswood, 
she  of  the  fawn  and  blue  satin  gown  and  the  silver 
hair,  now  Mrs.  Bernard  Moore ! 

Even  the  master  of  "Nomini  Hall  "  proscribed  the 
tea  long  before  he  ceased,  for  he  did  cease  at  last,  to 
toast  "  his  Gracious  Majesty,  the  King."  "  Some 
thing,"  says  our  old  friend,  the  tutor,  "  in  our  palace 
this  Evening  very  merry  happened.  Mrs.  Carter 
made  a  dish  of  Tea  !  At  Coffee  she  sent  me  a  dish  — 
I  and  the  Colonel  both  ignorant.  He  smelt,  sipt, 
look'd  !  At  last  with  great  gravity  he  asks, (  What *s 
Ms  ?'  c  Do  you  ask,  Sir  ? '  '  Poh  ! '  and  out 
he  throws  it,  splash  !  a  sacrifice  to  Vulcan." 

It  seems  the  tea  was  restored  to  favor,  at  least  in 
the  army,  only  three  years  later.  The  colonists 
were  then  expressing  themselves  in  sterner  language  ! 
An  island  was  found  somewhere  near  headquarters 
in  June,  1778.  Here  the  officers  invited  their 
friends  in  the  afternoon  to  drink  tea,  and  because 
the  island  was  so  beautiful  and  enchanting  they 
honored  it  with  the  name  of  "  Paphos."  There 
"  Lady  Stirling,  Lady  Kilty,  and  Miss  Brown,  met 
his  Excellency's  lady,  an  agreeable,  well-disposed, 


244     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

excellent  woman.  The  prospect  of  an  alliance  in 
Europe  had  cheered  every  heart,  and  cheerfulness 
enlightened  every  countenance/'  Was  it  the  "  alli 
ance  "  or  the  dearly  loved  beverage  of  which  they 
had  been  so  long  deprived  ?  Thenceforward  and 
until  to-day  the  afternoon  tea  has  been  an  institu 
tion,  linked  with  the  history  of  our  country.  It 
came  back  on  the  island  of  Paphos,  and  it  came  to 
stay  !  We  hear  of  it  once  again  in  the  annals  of 
the  Revolution.  The  Marquis  de  Chastellux  tells  us 
of  another  afternoon  tea !  "  I  left  Mr.  Samuel 
Adams  with  regret,  and  terminated  my  day  by  a 
visit  to  Colonel  Bland.  He  is  a  tall,  handsome 
man  who  has  been  a  good  soldier,  but  at  present 
serves  his  country  and  serves  it  well  in  Congress. 
I  was  invited  to  drink  tea,  that  is,  attend  a  sort  of 
Assembly :  pretty  much  like  the  conversazioni  of 
Italy ;  for  tea  here  is  the  substitute  for  the  rinfresca. 
Mr.  Arthur  Lee,  M.  de  La  Fayette,  M.  de  Nou- 
alles,  M.  de  Dames,  etc:  were  of  the  party."  In 
those  days  men  could  be  found  at  an  afternoon  tea  ! 


CHAPTER    II 

THE    STORM 

THE  stirring  events  which  marked  every 
month  in  the  next  two  years  are  known  to 
every  reader  of  American  history:  the  steady 
injustice  and  oppression  of  the  governor,  his  attempt 
to  disarm  the  colonists  by  removing  the  powder  of 
the  colony  from  "The  old  Powder-horn,"  the  quaint 
old  building  at  Williamsburg,  now  cherished  by  the 
association  for  the  preservation  of  Virginia  antiqui 
ties,  the  arming  of  the  Virginians  headed  by  Patrick 
Henry  to  reclaim  it,  the  flight  of  poor  Lady  Dunmore 
and  her  pretty  daughters  to  the  protecting  guns  of 
the  Fowey,  finally,  the  flight  of  the  governor  him 
self,  followed  by  the  curses  of  the  people, —  how  he 
trained  his  guns  on  Norfolk,  giving  Virginia  her  first 
experience  of  the  horrors  of  war,  how  he  hung 
about  the  coast  to  the  terror  of  the  country  people, 
and  finally  announced  his  intention  of  sailing  up  the 
Potomac  and  capturing  Mrs.  Washington  ! 

When  the  powder  was  stolen  by  Governor  Dun- 
more,  seven  hundred  citizens,  calling  themselves  the 
Friends  of  Liberty,  armed  and  met  in  Fredericksburg, 
ready  to  march  to  Williamsburg,  and  reclaim  it  by 

245 


246    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

force.  They  were  led  by  Hugh  Mercer,  Mary 
Washington's  friend  and  neighbor.  George  Wash 
ington  and  George  Mason  prevailed  upon  them  to 
wait  until  Dunmore  made  restitution. 

These  were  days  of  fearful  trial  to  Mary  Wash 
ington.  Hitherto,  on  her  quiet  farm  on  the  banks 
of  the  Rappahannock,  she  had  known  little  of  all 
the  stir  and  excitement.  Of  the  little  that  she  heard 
she  disapproved.  She  was  a  loyal  subject  of  the 
king  and  a  devoted  churchwoman.  All  her  early 
prejudices,  traditions,  ideas  of  duty,  close  ties  of 
kindred,  bound  her  to  the  mother  country^and  the 
Church  of  England.  That  these  should  be  resisted 
by  her  own  family,  her  four  sons,  and  the  Mer 
cers,  Travers,  and  Gregorys,  was  an  overwhelming 
disaster,  to  which  she  found  it  hard  to  be  resigned. 

When  war  was  declared  and  she  learned  that  her 
son  was  to  lead  the  rebellious  army,  her  anguish 
was  expressed  in  the  most  vehement  language. 
"  Grandma  Knox  "  strove  in  vain  to  console  her. 
"  Oh,  is  there  to  be  more  fighting,  more  bloodshed  ? 
Surely  it  will  all  end  in  the  halter,"  exclaimed  the 
devoted  mother.  So  bitter  were  her  feelings  at  this 
moment,  that  when  General  Washington  rode  to 
Fredericksburg  to  induce  her  to  remove  into  the 
town,  he  was  doubtful  in  what  manner  she  would 
receive  him.  He  thought  it  prudent  to  pause 
at  the  little  inn,  "  The  Indian  Queen,"  and  re 
connoitre. 


The  Storm  247 

That  a  member  of  the  family  should  "  put  up  at 
a  tavern  "  was  so  tremendous  an  event  that  no  one 
dared  mention  it  to  his  mother.  Observing  an  air 
of  mystery  in  the  faces  of  her  servants,  she  demanded 
an  explanation.  "  Tell  George  to  come  home  in 
stantly  —  instantly  !  "  she  exclaimed  ;  and  straining 
him  to  her  bosom,  she  again  commended  him  to 
God,  and  again  gave  him,  with  her  blessing,  to  his 
country. 

On  the  15th  of  June,  1775,  he  was  elected 
commander-in-chief  of  the  American  forces,  and 
crossed  the  threshold  of  his  mother's  home,  and  his 
own  beloved  Mount  Vernon,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Potomac,  to  return  no  more  until  the  war  should 
end.  He  was  in  his  saddle,  on  his  way  to  Boston 
on  horseback,  when  he  was  met  by  the  news  of  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  On  the  second  of  July  he 
entered  Boston  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  people 
and  the  thunder  of  cannon,  and  the  next  day  assumed 
command  of  the  American  forces. 

The  anguish  of  his  mother  was  shared  by  the  wife, 
left  alone  at  Mount  Vernon.  She  wrote  to  a  relative 
who  censured  the  folly  of  Washington's  position  : 
"  I  foresee  consequences,  dark  days,  domestic  happi 
ness  suspended,  eternal  separation  on  earth  possible. 
But  my  mind  is  made  up.  My  heart  is  in  the 
cause.  George  is  right ;  he  is  always  right  !  " 

"  Escorted,"  says  Washington  Irving,  "  by  a  troop 
of  light-horse,  and  a  cavalcade  of  citizens,  he  pro- 


248    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

ceeded  to  the  headquarters  provided  for  him  at 
Cambridge,  three  miles  distant.  As  he  entered  the 
confines  of  his  camp,  the  shouts  of  the  multitude 
and  the  thundering  of  artillery,  gave  note  to  the 
enemy  beleaguered  in  Boston  of  his  arrival/' 


Abigail  Adams. 

He  was  already  the  idol  of  the  hour  !  As  he  rode 
along  the  lines,  all  travel-soiled  and  dusty,  he  found 
favor  in  every  heart.  The  soldiers  adored  him  — 
the  women  as  well.  The  elegant  and  accomplished 
wife  of  John  Adams,  destined  to  be  the  first  Ameri 
can  lady  to  make  her  courtesy  to  King  George  after 


The  Storm  249 

it  was  all  over,  wrote  to  her  husband :  "  Dignity, 
ease  and  complacency,  the  gentleman  and  the  sol 
dier,  look  agreeably  blended  in  him.  Modesty 
marks  every  line  and  feature  of  his  face.  Those 
lines  of  Dryden  instantly  occurred  to  me  :  — 

"  (  Mark  his  majestic  fabric  !      He's  a  temple 
Sacred  by  birth  and  built  by  hands  divine; 
His  soul's  the  Deity  that  lodges  there; 
Nor  is  the  pile  unworthy  of  the  God ! '  3 

What  said  the  "Godlike"  hero  to  all  this? 
Simply  that  he  trusted  that  Divine  Providence, 
which  wisely  orders  the  affairs  of  men,  would  enable 
him  to  discharge  his  duty  with  fidelity  and  success. 
A  year  later  he  wrote,  "  When  I  took  command  of 
the  army  I  abhorred  the  idea  of  independence,  but 
I  am  now  fully  satisfied  that  nothing  else  will 
save  us." 

Dunmore  was  still  in  the  Virginia  waters.  He 
did  not  leave  until  the  following  year,  in  fact,  his 
burning  of  Norfolk  occurred  six  months  after  Gen 
eral  Washington  left  Virginia.  It  was  constantly 
expected  that  he  would  appear  upon  the  Rappahan- 
nock  and  Potomac  rivers ;  and  Colonel  George 
Mason,  having  moved  his  own  family  to  a  place  of 
safety,  recommended  to  Mrs.  Martha  Washington, 
who  was  at  Mount  Vernon,  to  leave  the  neighbor 
hood  also.  He  wrote  to  General  Washington  a 
little  later :  "  Dunmore  has  come  and  gone,  and  left 


250    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

us  untouched  except  by  some  alarms.  I  sent  my 
family  many  miles  back  into  the  country,  and 
advised  Mrs.  Washington  to  do  likewise  as  a  pru 
dential  movement.  At  first  she  said,  £  No,  I  will 
not  desert  my  post/  but  she  finally  did  so  with  re 
luctance,  rode  only  a  few  miles,  and,  plucky  little 
woman  as  she  is,  stayed  away  only  one  night." 
During  the  summer  of  1776,  Dunmore  started  again 
to  ascend  the  Potomac  to  lay  waste  "Gunston  Hall" 
and  Mount  Vernon  and  capture  Mrs.  Washington. 
The  county  militia  harassed  him  on  his  way,  but  he 
probably  would  have  achieved  his  purpose  but  for 
a  dreadful  storm  that  threatened  the  safety  of  the 
ship.  But  when  thunder  and  storm  reached  him 
through  the  cannon-balls  of  Andrew  Lewis,  one  of 
which  passed  through  his  flag-ship  and  smashed 
his  china,  "Good  God!"  said  Lord  Dunmore, 
"  has  it  come  to  this  ?  "  and  weighing  anchor,  he 
betook  himself  to  England,  having  injured  as  far 
as  possible  the  colony  he  was  commissioned  to 
protect. 


CHAPTER    III 

MARY    WASHINGTON    IN    THE    HOUR    OF    PERIL 

MARY  WASHINGTON  was  kept  in  a  state 
of  perpetual  anxiety  and  alarm.  She  was 
left  unprotected  by  her  nearest  friends  and 
relatives.  Her  son  was  gone,  returning  for  no  brief 
visits  to  his  old  home.  Her  grandson,  George 
Lewis,  was  on  his  uncle's  staff.  Her  sons  were 
enlisted,  all  her  grandsons.  The  Spotswood  boys 
were  at  the  front.  Her  good  neighbor,  Hugh  Mer 
cer,  was  a  general,  in  the  army  ;  her  near  relative, 
Colonel  Burgess  Ball,  had  raised  and  equipped  a 
regiment,  and  was  maintaining  it  at  his  own  expense. 
"  All  Europe  was  amazed  when  out  of  the  forests 
and  fields  of  the  remote  colonies  of  the  Atlantic  coast, 
from  north  to  south,  there  stepped  forth  at  the  drum 
beat  of  Revolution  heroes,  scholars,  statesmen,  sol 
diers,  and  chieftains  who  overcame  its  master  spirits 
in  debate  and  foiled  its  ablest  commanders  in  the 
field  of  combat." 

Others  of  her  neighbors  and  relations  were  already 
at  the  front.  In  many  houses  father  and  sons  had 
gone ;  in  almost  every  home  the  first-born  was  a 
soldier.  She  had  only  with  her  the  women  of  her 

251 


252    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

kindred  and  the  good  and  faithful  Dr.  Charles 
Mortimer,  —  the  loyal  American  though  English 
born,  —  the  able,  generous  physician.  At  his  own 
expense  he  equipped  and  maintained  a  hospital  in 
which  Mary  Washington  and  his  little  Maria  prob 
ably  felt  a  deep  and  common  interest. 

Her  old  age  was  not  to  be  the  ideal  age  so  passion 
ately  desired  by  the  old,  of  quiet  serenity,  "  honor, 
obedience,  and  troops  of  friends."  The  latter  she 
had,  with  the  added  pang  of  keen  anxiety  for  their 
safety  and  welfare.  She  was  called  upon  to  surrender 
all  she  held  sacred  or  dear,  —  her  king,  her  church, 
her  glorious  son,  her  kindred,  her  loved  country 
home.  She  gave  up  all  resignedly,  uncomplainingly. 

It  was  after  this  triumph  over  her  prejudices,  this 
complete  surrender  to  conviction  of  duty  that  her 
character  blossomed  into  perfect  beauty.  A  great 
calmness  possessed  her  soul  and  shone  in  her  face, 
a  dignified  resignation  differing  altogether  from  dumb 
despair. 

While  her  son  was  leading  the  troops  of  his  coun 
try  she  was  busily  engaged  in  the  industries  of 
domestic  life,  —  sorting  the  fleece  and  mingling  it  with 
shredded  silk  to  make  long  hose  for  her  son,  the 
general ;  weaving  substantial  fabrics  in  the  great 
cumbrous  looms  ;  learning  cunning  secrets  of  herbs 
and  leaves  to  dye  the  cloth  for  garments  ;  preparing 
balsams  and  lotions  for  the  sick  and  needy.  Her 
hands  were  never  idle.  Gathering  her  apron  into  a 


Mary  Washington  in  the  Hour  of  Peril     253 

spacious  pocket,  she  walked  about  with  the  woollen 
knitting  for  her  son's  soldiers.  She  became,  it  is 
true,  somewhat  more  silent,  more  reserved.  The 
lines  of  the  face  lost  all  hint  of  humor.  She  was  too 
sad  for  that,  but  never  peevish  or  complaining. 
Descendants  of  her  old  neighbors  acknowledged  that 
"  Mrs.  Washington  was  somewhat  stern,"  but  add 
that  she  and  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Lewis,  possessed 
withal  a  lofty  graciousness  of  manner  peculiarly  their 
own.  General  Washington  had  this  manner,  com 
manding  deference  and  confidence,  and  forbidding 
familiarity  or  the  smallest  liberty ;  although  it  is 
certain  that  neither  he  nor  his  mother  were  conscious 
of  the  impression  made  upon  others. 

Her  daughter,  Betty  Lewis,  lived  at  "  Kenmore," 
the  elegant  mansion  near  Fredericksburg,  and  en 
treated  her  to  come  to  her  "  to  be  taken  care  of," 
but  she  said,  "  My  wants  are  few  in  this  life,  and 
I  feel  perfectly  competent  to  take  care  of  myself." 
She  elected  a  home  of  her  own  very  near cc  Kenmore," 
preferring  to  be  independent.  Thence  she  was 
driven  every  day  by  "  old  Stephen  "  in  her  phaeton 
to  her  farm  across  the  river,  whence  she  brought 
seeds  and  cuttings  for  her  town  garden  and  a  jug 
of  water  from  the  spring  out  of  which  her  husband 
and  children  had  drunk.  Old  Stephen  witnessed 
with  glee  her  method  of  dealing  with  her  overseer. 
The  latter  ventured  one  day  to  depart  from  her 
instructions,  and  she  called  him  to  account. 


254    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"  Madam,"  said  the  agent,  "  in  my  judgment  the 
work  has  been  done  to  better  advantage  than  if  I 
had  followed  your  instructions." 

"  And  pray,  sir,  who  gave  you  the  right  to  exer 
cise  any  judgment  in  the  matter  ?  "  she  asked  ;  "  I 
command  you,  sir !  There  is  nothing  left  for  you 
but  to  obey." 

Fredericksburg  was  in  the  direct  line  of  communi 
cation  between  Williamsburg  and  the  headquarters 
of  the  army.  Couriers  were  perpetually  passing  to 
and  fro,  and  many  were  the  respectful  letters  "  hon 
ored  madam  "  received  from  the  great  commander. 

With  the  coming  of  these  couriers  came  repeated 
tidings  of  loss  and  defeat.  She  heard  about  the 
battle  of  Long  Island,  the  long  days  and  nights  in 
the  saddle ;  of  the  defeat  at  White  Plains  ;  of  how 
the  militia  quitted  and  went  home  ;  of  the  Princeton 
victory,  where  her  loved  neighbor,  Hugh  Mercer, 
died  in  her  grandson's  arms ;  of  the  heavy  loss  at 
Brandywine  and  Germantown,  where  her  near  neigh 
bor,  the  son  of  plucky  John  Spotswood,  fell  danger 
ously  wounded  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy ;  of  the 
misery  at  Valley  Forge ;  of  Howe's  occupation  of 
Philadelphia ;  of  General  Gates's  great  victory  at 
Saratoga  —  perhaps  of  the  cabal  against  her  son, 
when  the  victorious  general  was  preferred  by  some 
to  him.  Perhaps  her  son  may  have  written,  or 
some  of  Morgan's  borderers  written  to  their  friends, 
of  their  march  from  the  Shenandoah  to  Boston  with 


Mary  Washington  in  the  Hour  of  Peril     255 

"  Liberty  or  Death "  embroidered  in  white  letters 
on  their  hunting-shirts ;  how  General  Washington 
had  met  them  as  he  was  riding  along  his  lines ; 
how  Morgan  had  saluted  with  the  words,  "From 
the  right  bank  of  the  Potomac,  General !  "  how  the 
great  commander  had  leaped  from  his  horse,  and 
with  tears  in  his  eyes  shook  hands  with  each  one 
of  them. 

"  The  night  was  dark  and  he  was  far  from  home  !  " 

Or,  perhaps,  those  watching,  waiting  women  on  the 
Rappahannock  heard  of  how  the  Virginian,  George 
Rogers  Clarke,  had  begged  powder  and  men,  and 
gone  out  to  shut  and  guard  the  back  door  of  the 
country  ;  how  they  had  waded  in  freezing  water,  fast 
ing  five  days  and  nights,  holding  their  muskets  above 
their  heads  as  they  struggled  on  ;  how,  finally,  ready 
as  they  were  to  give  up,  a  little  drummer-boy  had 
mounted  the  shoulders  of  a  tall  soldier,  and  beat 
the  vigorous  "  Charge,"  rallying  and  inspiring  their 
fainting  spirits.  Or,  it  may  be,  that  some  messenger 
among  the  fleet  couriers  had  come  from  Wheeling, 
Virginia,  and  could  tell  of  Elizabeth  Zane,  the 
brave  young  girl,  who  volunteered  to  cross  a  plain 
under  Indian  fire,  and  bring  a  keg  of  powder  from 
a  house  in  town  to  save  the  stockade  in  which  her 
people  were  hiding ;  how  she  ran  across  the  plain, 
found  and  fetched  the  powder,  and  saved  the  day. 

"  These  noble  legends,"  says  Esten  Cooke,  "  are 


256    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

the  true  glories  of  American  history  ;  the  race  lives 
in  them  and  is  best  illustrated  by  them.  It  was  a 
very  great  race,  and  faced  peril  without  shrinking, 
down  to  the  very  boys  and  girls  ;  and  what  the  long 
years  of  the  future  will  remember  is  this  heroic  phase, 
not  the  treaties  and  protocols  of  American  history." 
It  was  the  spirit  behind  our  little  army  that  compelled 
events  and  carried  it  triumphantly  to  the  glorious 
result. 

It  is  said  that  Mary  Washington  never  tolerated 
an  expression  of  complaint  or  despair  during  these 
trying  times.  She  would  rebuke  it  by  saying,  "  The 
mothers  and  wives  of  brave  men  must  be  brave 
women."  Mr.  Custis  says  that,  "  Directly  in  the 
way  of  the  news,  as  it  passed  from  North  to  South, 
one  courier  would  bring  intelligence  of  success  to 
our  arms  ;  another,  c  swiftly  coursing  at  his  heels,' 
the  saddening  reverse  of  disaster  and  defeat.  While 
thus  ebbed  and  flowed  the  fortunes  of  our  cause,  the 
mother,  trusting  to  the  wisdom  and  protection  of 
Divine  Providence,  preserved  the  even  tenor  of  her 
life,  affording  an  example  to  those  matrons  whose 
sons  were  alike  engaged  in  the  arduous  contest ;  and 
showing  that  unavailing  anxieties,  however  belonging 
to  nature,  were  unworthy  of  mothers  whose  sons 
were  combating  for  the  inestimable  rights  of  man 
and  the  freedom  and  happiness  of  the  world. 

"  During  the  war  the  mother  set  a  most  valuable 
example  in  the  management  of  her  domestic  con- 


Mary  Washington  in  the  Hour  of  Peril      257 

cerns,  carrying  her  own  keys,  bustling  in  her  house 
hold  affairs,  providing  for  her  family,  and  living  and 
moving  in  all  the  pride  of  independence.  She  was 
not  actuated  by  that  ambition  for  show  which  per 
vades  lesser  minds  ;  and  the  peculiar  plainness  and 
dignity  of  her  manners  became  in  no  wise  altered, 
when  the  sun  of  glory  arose  upon  her  house.  There 
are  some  of  the  aged  inhabitants  of  Fredericksburg 
who  well  remember  the  matron  as  seated  in  an  old- 
fashioned  open  chaise;  she  was  in  the  habit  of  visit 
ing,  almost  daily,  her  little  farm  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  town.  When  there  she  would  ride  about  her 
fields,  giving  her  orders,  and  seeing  that  they  were 
obeyed. 

"  Hers  was  a  familiar  form  in  Fredericksbu*g  dur 
ing  the  Revolution,  and  its  people  showed  her  every 
respect  as  she  walked  the  streets  leaning  on  her 
cane.  Devout  and  worshipful  she  appeared  every 
Sabbath  at  church  at  the  appointed  hour ;  and  while 
the  armies  under  her  son  were  struggling  for  our 
freedom,  the  knitting  needles  were  busily  plied,  and 
from  her  home  went  forth  her  modest  contributions 
of  supplies  for  him  and  his  soldiers." 

Her  biographers  love  to  dwell  upon  her  pre 
ternatural  serenity.  This  serenity  did  not  serve  for 
dark  hours  only.  She  was  not  surprised  when  the 
tide  turned,  and  the  waves  of  triumph  were  borne 
to  her  feet.  When  her  neighbors  thronged  her  with 
plaudits  and  praise  of  her  noble  son  —  their  idol 


258    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

and  hers  —  she  restrained  their  extravagant  words, 
saying  quietly :  "  George  seems  to  have  deserved 
well  of  his  country,  but  we  must  not  praise  him 
too  much.  George  has  not  forgotten  his  duty  ! " 

When  the  news  reached  Fredericksburg  of  the 
victories  of  Trenton  and  Princeton  (in  that  ten 
days'  campaign  which  Frederick  the  Great  called 
the  most  brilliant  in  the  annals  of  war)  friends 
gathered  around  her  with  congratulations  upon  the 
great  achievements  of  her  son.  She  received  them 
with  calmness,  observed  that  it  was  most  pleasurable 
news,  and  that  George  appeared  to  have  deserved 
well  of  his  country  for  such  signal  services,  and 
continued,  in  reply  to  the  congratulating  patriots 
(most  of  whom  held  letters  in  their  hands,  from 
which  they  read  extracts),  "  but,  my  good  sirs,  here 
is  too  much  flattery  —  still  George  will  not  forget 
the  lessons  I  early  taught  him  ;  he  will  not  forget 
himself,  though  he  is  the  subject  of  so  much  praise." 

Among  the  traditions  which  still  linger  around 
Fredericksburg  is  one  illustrating  her  perfect  calm 
ness,  trust,  and  self-control.  George  Kiger,  the 
courier,  having  at  a  time  of  great  anxiety  ridden 
hard  to  deliver  a  packet  to  her  from  headquarters, 
was  dismayed  to  see  her  drop  it  unread  into  one  of 
her  unfathomable  pockets,  simply  remarking,  "  It 
is  all  right  —  I  am  well  assured  of  that."  Bursting 
with  curiosity,  and  mindful  of  the  crowd  which  had 
assembled  at  her  gate  to  hear  the  news,  Kiger  sug- 


Mary  Washington  in  the  Hour  of  Peril     259 

gested :  "  There  may  have  been  a  battle.  The 
neighbors  would  like  to  know."  Thereupon  she 
fished  up  the  packet,  glanced  over  it,  and  announced, 
"There  has  been  a  victory  !  "  adding,  in  the  fulness 
of  her  heart,  "  George  generally  carries  through 
whatever  he  undertakes." 

In  relating  this  we  are  reminded  of  the  despatch 
once  handed  to  General  Washington  while  he  was 
sitting  for  his  portrait.  He  read  it  apparently  un 
moved  and  in  silence.  It  announced  the  surrender 
of  Burgoyne's  army  ! 

As  the  long  years  passed  heavily  away  she  had 
need  of  more  than  her  own  strong  nature  to  sustain 
her.  She  must  seek  for  strength  not  her  own.  "  She 
was  always  pious,"  says  Mr.  Custis,  "  but  in  her 
latter  days  her  devotions  were  performed  in  private. 
She  was  in  the  habit  of  repairing  every  day  to  a 
secluded  spot,  formed  by  rocks  and  trees,  near  her 
dwelling,  where,  abstracted  from  the  world  and 
worldly  things,  she  communed  with  her  Creator,  in 
humiliation  and  prayer." 

This  favorite  resort  of  hers,  sometimes  called 
"  Oratory  Rock,"  was  a  spot  on  Colonel  Lewis's 
estate,  sheltered  by  climbing  vines  from  observation. 
Oratory  Rock  was  a  knoll  on  the  "  Kenmore " 
grounds  which  during  her  life  overlooked  the  Rappa- 
hannock.  The  river  has  since  forsaken  its  bed  there, 
and  flows  in  another  channel.  It  was  to  this  spot, 
made  lovely  by  shade  trees  and  flowing  vines,  that 


260    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

she  repaired  daily  for  meditation  and  prayer,  return 
ing  home  soothed  and  strengthened.  She  often  ex 
pressed  her  gratitude  for  these  .serene  hours,  and 
desired  that  she  might  be  buried  upon  the  spot, 
where  she  had  received  such  consolation. 

And    who    can    tell    what    heavenly    messengers 


Oratory  Rock. 

visited  this  great  spirit  and  ministered  unto  her? 
At  her  feet  flowed  the  Rappahannock,  over  which 
her  son  when  a  lad  had  thrown  a  stone.  She  could 
remember  how  his  heart  had  swelled  with  pride,  — 
that  heart  now  breaking  at  the  falling  away  of  friends, 
the  desertion  of  soldiers,  the  disasters  on  the  Hudson 


Mary  Washington  in  the  Hour  of  Peril     261 

and  Long  Island.  Who  can  doubt  that  the  tears 
of  the  great  commander  fell  upon  his  mother's 
heart !  Her  life  had  been  one  of  anxiety,  trouble, 
and  strife.  It  was  now  almost  over !  She  knew  of 
the  end,  only  that  for  her  it  was  near !  It  was  then 
that  whispered  words  may  have  floated  on  the  mists 
of  the  gathering  twilight:  "In  the  world  ye  shall 
have  tribulations !  Fear  not !  I  have  overcome 
the  world." 


CHAPTER    IV 

OLD    REVOLUTIONARY    LETTERS 

WHENEVER  the  women  of  the  Revolu 
tion  appear  upon  the  pages  of  history  or 
romance  they  are  invested  with  extraor 
dinary  virtues.  Our  traditions  are  on]y  of  maidens 
who  forsook  morning  lessons  on  the  harpsichord, 
and  afternoon  tea,  and  embroidery,  to  knit  stockings 
and  make  plain  garments ;  of  Abigail  Adams,  who 
"  sought  wool  and  flax  and  worked  willingly  with 
her  own  hands,"  of  Lady  Washington,  dignified  and 
domestic,  presenting  gloves  of  her  own  knitting,  fin 
ished  and  unfinished,  as  souvenirs  of  morning  visits, 
of  the  angelic  ministrations  of  the  women  of  Mass 
achusetts  and  New  Jersey.  "  Fairer  always  are  the 
old  moons  of  Villon,  than  the  moons  of  to-day  ! " 
Chesterfield  says  human  nature  is  the  same  all  the 
world  over.  Woman  nature  assuredly  is  ! 

Letter-writing  in  the  eighteenth  century  was 
difficult ;  the  transmission  of  letters  after  they 
were  written  uncertain.  One  letter  received  from 
London  was  addressed  in  the  fullest  faith  of  finding 
its  destination  to  "  Major  George  Washington,  At 

262 


Old  Revolutionary  Letters  263 

the  Falls  of  the  Rappahannock  or  elsewhere  in  Vir 
ginia"  Of  course,  the  fate  of  these  letters  was 
doubtful.  They  were  liable  to  be  lost  or  forgotten. 
They  might  be  intercepted  by  the  enemy.  Hence 
the  stilted  style  of  many  of  the  Revolutionary  let 
ters,  the  liberal  use  of  initials  to  indicate  proper 
names,  the  guarded  hints,  obscure  innuendoes  and 
vague  allusions  which  characterize  them.  Letters 
were  written  on  coarse  paper,  the  sheet  folded  over  to 
leave  space  for  the  address,  tied  across  with  a  string, 
and  sealed  with  wax  or  a  small  red  wafer.  There 
were  no  envelopes,  no  blotting-paper,  no  pens 
except  those  of  home  manufacture  from  the  goose- 
quill.  Two  months  was  a  reasonable  length  of  time 
to  allow  for  the  delivery  of  letters.  To  the  captain 
of  some  passing  sloop  they  were  generally  confided, 
or  to  the  pocket  of  some  friend  journeying  at  leisure 
from  neighborhood  to  neighborhood.  When  re 
ceived  they  were  treasured,  and  packed  away  in  old 
chests  or  the  secret  drawers  of  old  secretaries, 
thence  to  arise  to  accuse  or  defend,  or  entertain  the 
curious  in  future  generations. 

A  New  York  paper,  published  about  seventy 
years  ago,  tells  the  history  of  some  of  these  old 
letters,  as  follows  i1  "In  one  of  the  thirty  apartments 
of  the  old  colonial  home  of  the  Bland  family,  £  Caw- 
sons,'  a  large  party  were  assembled  at  dinner  with 
the  master  of  the  house,  a  bachelor,  and  not  a  mem- 

1  "  Bland  Papers,"  edited  by  Charles  Campbell. 


264    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

her  of  the  Bland  family,  when  a  servant  entered  and 
informed  him  that  the  house  was  on  fire  ! 

"  He  received  the  information  with  great  coolness 
and  composure,  ordered  that  the  fire  should  be  ex 
tinguished,  and  requested  his  guests  not  to  disturb 
themselves,  that  c  the  servants  would  attend  to  it.' 

"  For  a  time  the  wine  continued  to  circulate,  and 
it  appears  that  the  fire  did  also,  for  with  less  cere 
mony  than  their  host  it  soon  drove  the  party  out  of 
doors.  In  the  confusion  books  and  papers  were 
thrust  into  boxes  and  barrels,  or  into  anything  that 
presented  itself,  and  carried  off  into  a  neighboring 
barn. 

"  The  person  who  owned  the  place  at  the  time  of 
the  fire  has  been  dead  many  years,  and  the  accidental 
discovery,  very  recently,  of  the  papers  was  made  in 
the  following  manner.  A  gentleman  who  had  lived 
on  an  adjoining  farm  was  called  upon  one  morning 
by  a  poor  negro  who  requested  him  to  purchase  a 
basket  of  eggs.  The  basket  was  lined  with  manu 
scripts  which  proved  upon  closer  inspection  to  be 
original  letters  of  importance  from  General  Wash 
ington,  the  Marquis  La  Fayette  and  others,  ad 
dressed  to  Colonel  Theodoric  Bland,  and  written 
during  the  Revolution." 

There  was  one  letter,  alas  !  written  to  the  wife  of 
a  Virginia  officer  whom  we  should  be  loth  to  judge 
by  her  friends.  It  throws  a  sinister  light  upon  one 
phase  of  the  social  life  in  the  time  of  Mary  Wash- 


Old  Revolutionary  Letters 


265 


ington,  and  shows  us  women  who  could  trifle,  dress, 
dance,  and  flirt  with  the  enemies  of  their  country 
in  the  darkest  hour  of  their  country's  peril,  fiddling 
when  Rome  was  burning. 


Sir  William  Howe. 

Sir  William  Howe  entered  Philadelphia  in  the 
autumn  of  1777,  and  found  "many  to  welcome 
him."  Philadelphia  was  a  charming  old  town  with 
substantial  colonial  mansions  surrounded  by  grounds 
of  great  beauty.  September  roses  were  blooming 

1  Irving's  "  Life  of  Washington." 


266    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

in  those  old-fashioned  yards  and  gardens,  and  the 
gracious  young  beauties  were  quite  willing  to  gather 
them  for  the  British  officers.  The  officers,  when 
winter  set  in,  were  glad  to  give  them  all  back  in 
ball  and  concert,  play  and  assembly.  It  was  a  light- 
hearted,  happy  time  !  Why  should  they  not  enjoy 
it?  Why,  indeed  !  Nobody  would  bleed  the  more 
freely  or  starve  or  freeze  to  death  the  sooner ! 

One  of  the  letters  in  the  egg-basket  was  written 
by  a  lady  who  elected  to  live  in  Philadelphia  during 
the  occupation  of  that  city  by  Sir  William  Howe. 
It  was  addressed  to  the  wife  of  an  officer  at  the 
front.  We  cannot  profane  our  fair,  patriotic  pages, 
but  the  original  is  accentuated  by  oaths  quite 
worthy  of  Queen  Bess.  The  ladies  mentioned  in 
the  letter  were  wives  and  daughters  of  officers  in  the 
field.  The  writer  tells  some  very,  very  question 
able  gossip  to  her  "  dear  Patsy,"  and  then  proceeds  : 
.  .  .  "You  see  I  am  obeying  your  commands  and 
writing  a  folio  —  My  God  !  If  this  should  fall  into 
your  husband's  hands  I  should  die !  for  heaven's 
sake,  my  dear  Patsy,  don't  expose  me  to  him.  Your 
own  saucy  epistle  leads  me  into  this  scrape.  Mrs. 
Beekman  is  still  in  the  City.  They  were  very  un- 
genteelly  treated,  being  turned  out  of  their  house 
to  accommodate  Lord  Howe ;  they  were  then 
moved  into  the  street  where  my  mother  lives.  Mr. 
&  Mrs.  G.  are  at  their  house  in  Chestnut  Street. 
Notwithstanding  the  gratification  of  their  wishes 


Old  Revolutionary  Letters  267 

was  completed  in  the  arrival  of  the  British  Army, 
they  received  the  usual  disappointment.  Miss 
Roche  did  not  marry  f  S' —  by  all  accounts  he  is  a 
vile  fellow  —  so  tell  M.  he  may  have  hopes.  Miss 

is  not  shackled,  tho'  she    has  many  bleeding 

hearts  at  her  feet."  (The  owners  of  the  bleeding 
hearts  were  British  officers.)  "  Her  vivacity  makes 
her  admired,  though  saucy  !  One  of  her  saucy  bon 
mots  I  cannot  omit.  Sir  William  Howe,  in  a  large 
company  one  evening,  snatched  a  piece  of  narrow 
riband  from  her  the  moment  she  entered  the  ball 
room."  (Here,  alas,  a  covetous  rat  made  a  bonne 
bouche  of  the  bon  mot  —  perhaps  it  is  as  well!) 
"  Little  Poll  Redmond  still  continues  as  violent  a 
patriot  as  ever,  and  sings  c  War  and  Washington ' 
and  '  Burgoyne's  Defeat '  for  the  British  officers, 
and  with  a  particular  emphasis  and  saucy  counte 
nance  warbles  forth  '  Cooped  up  in  a  Town/  You 
have  no  idea  of  the  gay  winter  here ;  and  likewise 
the  censure  thrown  on  the  poor  girls  for  not  scorn 
ing  these  pleasures.  You,  my  friend,  have  liberality 
of  sentiment  and  can  make  proper  allowance  for 
young  people  deprived  of  the  gaieties  and  amuse 
ments  of  life ;  with  Plays,  concerts,  Balls,  Assem 
blies  in  rotation  courting  their  presence.  Politics 
is  never  introduced.  The  Whig  ladies  are  treated 
with  the  same  politeness  as  the  Tory  ladies.  I  my 
self  have  been  prevailed  on  to  partake  of  the  amuse 
ments,  and  I  am,  in  raillery,  styled  c  rebel/  and  all 


268    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

the  Whig  news  is  kept  from  me.  I  had  the  'draught 
of  the  bill '  and  Lord  North's  letter.  I  have  met 
a  great  Hessian  Yager  Colonel,"  etc.,  through  end 
less  gossip  of  which  the  above  is  the  only  admissi 
ble  sample  ! 

It  is  unpleasant  to  observe  that  this  letter  was 
written  in  the  winter  of  1777—1778  —  the  winter  that 
young  Bartholomew  Yates,  a  lieutenant  in  a  Virginia 
regiment,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  died 
in  captivity  from  wounds  inflicted^  after  his  surrender ', 
by  the  Hessians  —  possibly  at  the  order  of  my  lady's 
"great  Hessian  Yager  Colonel,"  who  was,  according 
to  her  narrative,  admitted  to  her  society  and  confid 
ing  to  her  the  secrets  of  the  enemy.  At  that  mo 
ment  many  American  prisoners,  —  among  them 
young  John  Spotswood,  —  desperately  wounded, 
were  in  Philadelphia  inhumanly  treated,  dying  from 
wanton  neglect ;  and  General  Washington  indig 
nantly  threatening  retaliation  in  his  letters  to  Sir 
William  Howe.  "  The  English  officers  were  re 
ceived  in  the  best  society  with  more  than  toleration, 
and  they  soon  became  extremely  popular.  The 
winter  was  long  remembered  in  Philadelphia  for 
its  gayety  and  its  charm.  There  were  no  signs  of 
that  genuine  dislike  which  had  been  abundantly 
displayed  in  Boston."  It  appears  the  ladies  of 
Philadelphia  ignored  the  well-known  character  of 
Sir  William  Howe.  Also  that  the  courtly  Sir 
William,  when  he  found  a  house  that  suited  him, 


Old  Revolutionary  Letters  269 

knew  how  to  make  the  terms  for  it.1  He  took 
the  mansion  of  a  rich  old  loyalist  Quaker,  John 
Pemberton  (in  the  absence  of  the  latter),  and  used 
also  the  elegant  carriage  of  the  Quaker  for  his 
parties  of  pleasure.  When  the  latter  returned  home 
he  found  his  property  much  injured,  and  claimed 
indemnity.  Sir  William  curtly  refused.  "  Thee 
had  better  take  care  !  "  said  John  Pemberton.  "  Thee 
has  done  great  damage  to  my  house,  and  thee  has 
suffered  thy  wicked  women  to  ride  in  my  carriage, 
and  my  wife  will  not  use  it  since.  Thee  must  pay 
me  for  the  injury  or  I  will  go  to  thy  master"  (the 
King)  "  and  lay  my  complaint  before  him." 

Sir  William  did  take  care  !      He  paid  the  money. 

That  most  unfortunate  of  men,  Major  Andre,  de 
vised  in  honor  of  Sir  William  Howe  the  splendid 
festival  of  the  Mischianza  during  the  occupation  of 
Philadelphia.  Our  gay  correspondent  received  an 
invitation  with  "  the  Howe  arms  and  motto  vive 
vale.  The  device  was  a  setting  sun  with  (  He  shines 
as  he  sets,  to  rise  again.'  We  went  to  Pool's 
bridge  in  carriages  —  thence  boats,  barges  and  gal 
leys  bore  us  to  ships  of  the  fleet  —  all  gay  with  the 
colors  of  all  nations  and  every  country,  and  amid 
them,  waving  with  grace  and  elegance,  our  own 
Stars  and  Stripes  !  "  "  The  entertainment  comprised 
a  regatta,  a  ball,  and  a  great  display  of  fireworks, 
with  innumerable  emblems  and  exhibitions  of  loyalty 

1  "History  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia,"  Kercheval,  p.   128. 


270    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 


to  England.  It  brought  together  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  assemblages  of  the  youth,  beauty  and  fashion 
of  Philadelphia,  and  it  was  long  remembered  that 
Major  Andre  was  most  prominent  in  organizing 
the  entertainment,  and  that  the  most  prominent  of 
the  Philadelphia  beauties  who  adorned  it  was  Miss 

Shippen,  soon  after 
to  become  the  wife 
of  Benedict  Arnold." 
The  tournament 
was  between  the 
"  Knights  of  the  La 
dies  of  the  Blended 
Rose  and  the  Ladies 
of  the  Burning 
Mountain,"  the  lat 
ter  presumably  the 
daughters  of  the 
country  about  to  be 
consumed ! 

The  gayety  was  at 
its  height  when  the 
army  was  encamped  just  across  the  Schuylkill  at 
Valley  Forge  —  when  the  winter  was  one  of  extraor 
dinary  rigor.  During  that  winter  the  army  was 
often  without  bread,  often  entirely  without  meat. 
"  Few  men  "  had  "  more  than  one  shirt,  many  only 
the  moiety  of  one,  and  some  none  at  all."  Men 
were  confined  in  hospitals  or  farmers'  houses  for 


Major  Andre. 


Old  Revolutionary  Letters  271 

want  of  shoes.  In  camp  there  were  on  a  single 
day  2,898  men  unfit  for  duty  because  they  were 
"  barefoot  and  otherwise  naked."  In  December 
the  men  built  fires  and  sat  up  all  night  because 
there  were  no  blankets  to  cover  them.  When  a 
march  was  necessary  their  way  could  be  traced  by 
their  bleeding  feet.  In  three  weeks  of  this  time 
the  army  at  Valley  Forge  lost,  in  its  overflowing 
hospitals,  hundreds,  some  say  thousands,  of  men. 
Just  across  the  river  American  women  were  bandy 
ing  idle  compliments  with  the  British  and  Hessian 
officers,  living  on  delicacies  of  their  providing,  danc 
ing  at  midnight  routs  and  noonday  festivals.  Here, 
at  Valley  Forge,  Martha  Washington  was  passing 
among  the  sick  with  deeds  and  words  of  cheer,  and 
the  aged  mother  praying  in  solitude  on  the  banks 
of  the  Rappahannock  ! 

Of  the  lady,  to  whom  the  Philadelphia  letter  was 
addressed,  we  must,  perforce,  form  doubtful  conclu 
sions.  That  she  possessed  a  personality  which  found 
immediate  favor  in  the  eyes  of  men,  there  is  not  the 
least  doubt.  No  man  could  send  her  an  ordinary 
message  of  courtesy  unadorned  by  expressions  of 
gallantry.  Alexander  Hamilton  writes  of  Mrs.  Bland 
to  her  husband  so  warmly  that  he  is  constrained  to 
explain,  "  I  write  in  the  style  d'amitie"  notd'amour, 
as  might  have  been  imagined.  Says  Arthur  Lee, 
"  Lay  me  at  the  feet  of  Mrs.  Bland,"  prudently 
adding,  "and  in  the  bosom  of  your  friendship." 


272    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Stephen  Higginson  of  Boston  eclipses  them  all, 
and  dilates  upon  "the  rapturous  delight  of  one  fond 
kiss  from  sun  to  sun,"  which  it  appears  she  had 
promised  him  ;  doubting,  however,  his  "  capacity  for 
enjoyments  so  excessive  and  for  so  long  a  time." 
Her  own  colonel  shows  himself  to  be  very  tender 
and  gentle  to  his  wife.  He  preserved  all  her  letters. 
The  poor  lady  had  the  smallpox,  that  dreadful 
scourge  of  the  time,  but  she  had  not  the  greatness 
of  soul  to  keep  from  the  soldier  in  the  field  the 
knowledge  of  her  disaster.  She  drives  him  wild 
with  her  indefinite  complainings,  her  vague  hints. 
He  begs  her  to  spare  him  this  torture.  "You  say 
you  have  been  too  ill  until  to-day  to  see  yourself  in 
the  glass.  You  cannot  know  what  doubts  I  have 
had,  what  altercations  in  my  own  mind  whether  you 
went  to  the  glass  or  the  glass  came  to  you  !  "  She 
pines  for  the  stir  and  excitement  of  the  camp.  He 
entreats  her  to  feel  benevolence  and  interest  in  the 
stay-at-home  people.  But  my  lady  is  subtle ;  all 
her  trouble  is  forsooth  for  his  sake  —  and  he  believes 
her.  He  entreats  her  to  spare  him  her  repining  at 
his  absence,  and  says,  "  Remember  'tis  for  you,  for 
my  country,  for  my  honor,  that  I  endure  this  separa 
tion,  the  dangers  and  the  hardships  of  war;  remember 
that  America  cannot  be  free,  and  therefore  cannot  be 
happy,  without  the  virtue  of  her  sons  and  the  heroism 
of  her  daughters." 

We  observe  the  lady  gains  her  point.     She  joins 


Old  Revolutionary  Letters  273 

the  Court  of  Madam  Washington  in  camp.  We 
observe  further,  as  confirmation  of  our  estimate  of 
her  charms,  that  she  did  not  long  remain  a  widow 
after  her  husband's  early  death.  She  became  Mrs. 
Blodgett,  and  again  Mrs.  Curran.  Having  refused 
to  give  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  the  papers  and 
family  portraits  belonging  to  her  first  husband,  he 
wrote  bitterly  of  her,  always  as  "the  romantic  Mrs. 
Bland-Blodgett-Curran." 

With  these  volatile  letters  were  others  lining  the 
ample  egg-basket,  —  the  originals  of  some  of  the 
most  celebrated  letters  of  Washington,  Jefferson, 
Patrick  Henry,  Randolph,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  on 
the  grave  issues  of  the  hour,  and  all  addressed  to 
Colonel  Bland.  A  very  important  letter  was  from 
Arthur  Lee,  a  pure,  incorruptible  patriot,  who  could 
not  understand  how  a  public  servant  living  on  a 
small  salary  could  grow  rich. 

He  was  ambassador  at  the  French  court  with 
Franklin.  He  left  his  countrymen  in  great  straits 
for  money,  clothing,  and  provisions.  He  found  their 
representatives  abroad  living  in  affluence.  He  wrote 
home,  Dec.  13,  1778,  "they  have  made  immense 
private  fortunes  for  themselves  and  their  dependents. 
Mr.  D.  (Silas  Deane)  is  generally  understood  to  have 
made  ^60,000  sterling  while  he  was  commissioner; 
his  clerk,  from  being  penniless,  keeps  his  house 
and  carriage.  Dr.  Franklin's  nephew,  Mr.  Williams, 
from  being  clerk  in  a  sugar  bakehouse  in  London, 


274    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

is  become  a  capital  merchant  here,  loading  a  number 
of  ships  on  his  own  account,  while  gentlemen  of 
the  first  fortunes  in  America  cannot  get  remittances 
or  credit  for  their  subsistence. 


Arthur  Lee. 

"  These  things  are  notorious,  and  there  are  no 
visible  sources  of  this  property  but  the  public  money 
and  State  secrets  to  trade  upon. 

"  They  will  force  me  one  day  or  other  to  bring 
the  proof  of  these  things  before  Congress  and  the 
public  ;  when  I  am  sure  they  will  shed  some  of  their 
borrowed  plumes." 

Letters  from  the  French  officers,  Lafayette,  Fleury, 


Old  Revolutionary  Letters  275 

De  Francey,  speak  of  "  des  lauriers  que  vous  avez 
gagn'e  a  la  defense  de  votre  fatrie"  etc.  One  from 
Lafayette's  own  hand  illustrates  the  excellence  of 
the  marquis's  English,  perhaps  quite  as  good  as 
the  American  colonel's  French  :  — 

u  DEAR  SIR:  I  make  myself  the  pleasure  of  writing  to 
you  ;  and  wishing  you  an  agreeable  sejour  at  home.  If  you 
find  there  a  horse  distinguished  by  his  figure  as  well  as  his 
qualities  for  what  you  think  I  can  desire  of  him,  I  shall  be 
obliged  to  you  to  send  him  to  me ;  Provided  he  would  not 
be  wicked  for  others  or  troublesome  to  me ;  as  otherwise 
they  are  not  so  dear  at  equal  beauties  and  qualities.  Being 
so  fine  as  I  wish  him,  he  must  be  verry  dear.  I  beg  your 
pardon  for  this  commission  and  I  am,  with  great  affection 
u  Your  most  obedient  servant., 

"  LA  FAYETTE. 

"  P.S.  We  have  not  any  other  interesting  news  in  camp 
but  that  a  vessel  is  arrived  in  Portsmouth  from  France  with 
fifty  pieces  of  cannon  and  five  thousand  arms." 

Rather  an  important  item  to  follow  an  order  for  a 
horse. 

How  "verry  dear"  the  marquis's  fine  horse  was 
likely  to  be  we  can  gather  from  a  letter  written  by 
the  good  old  gentleman  at  "  Cawsons,"  from  which  we 
have  news  of  some  old  friends  among  the  race 
horses  :  "  I  have  a  new  coach  which  stands  me  in 
fourteen  thousand  and  odd  pounds  of  the  present 
money.  I  have  sold  the  horse  f  Aristotle '  at  a 
profit  and  bought  for  your  use  the  high-bred  horse, 


276     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

c  Janus-and-Silver-eye/  which  cost  me  one  hundred 
and  twenty  pounds." 

Another  French  officer  who  preferred  his  own 
English  to  Colonel  Eland's  French  was  Colonel 
Armand.  He  complains  that  "  Congress  have 
passed  a  resolve  that  have  buried  me  in  my  hart  and 
reputation.  I  have  not  practise  the  way  of  making 
friend  to  me  in  congress,  for  I  thought  such  way 
below  the  charactere  of  an  honest  man,  and  now 
God  know  but  I  shall  trayed  to  justify  myself  by 
myself."  Another  letter  exhibits  Washington's 
stern  ideas  of  honorable  warfare,  contrasting  sharply 
with  some  well-remembered  methods  in  later  days. 

"  I  am  informed  that  the  liberty  I  granted  the 
light  dragoons  to  impress  horses  has  been  horridly 
abused  and  perverted  into  a  plundering  scheme. 
I  intended  nothing  more  than  that  the  horses 
belonging  to  the  disaffected,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  British  Army,  should  be  taken  for  the  use 
of  the  dismounted  dragoons  and  regularly  reported 
to  the  quarter-master  general  that  an  account  might 
be  kept  of  the  number  of  persons  from  whom  they 
were  taken  in  order  to  future  settlement.  You  are 
to  make  known  to  your  whole  corps  that  they  are 
not  to  meddle  with  the  horses  or  other  property  of 
any  inhabitants  whatever ;  for  they  may  be  assured, 
as  far  as  it  depends  upon  me,  that  military  exe 
cution  will  attend  all  caught  in  the  like  practice 
hereafter." 


Old  Revolutionary  Letters  277 

Other  letters  relate  to  General  Washington's 
famous  order  against  gaming,  he  being  certain  that 
"  gentlemen  "  —  that  word  so  dear  to  the  colonial 
Virginian  —  "  can  find  amusement  without  applica 
tion  to  this  vile  resource  attended  with  so  many  evil 
consequences."  In  vain  did  one  John  Hawkins 
complain  of  loss  because  of  his  erection  "  for  the 
amusement  of  gentlemen,"  of  four  large  houses  of 
entertainment  with  billiard-tables.  It  was  decided 
that  billiards,  as  "  a  game  where  wagers  were  laid  " 
were  included  in  the  order. 

These  letters  were  written  in  times  "  well  fitted 
to  winnow  the  chaff  from  the  grain."  While 
Washington  wrote  of  the  falling  away  of  the  officers, 
and  the  desertion  of  thousands  of  men,  he  also 
paid  more  than  one  noble  tribute  to  the  brave  and 
true  men  who  remained  with  him.  "  Naked  and 
starving  as  they  are,"  he  said,  (cwe  cannot  enough 
admire  their  incomparable  patience  and  fidelity." 

Upon  Colonel  Eland's  election  to  the  First 
Congress,  General  Washington  wrote  him  a  most 
eloquent  letter  in  behalf  of  an  appropriation  for  the 
payment  of  the  army.  The  original  of  this  grand 
letter  was  found  in  the  egg-basket  collection. 

"  This  army  is  of  near  eight  years  standing,  six 
of  which  they  have  spent  in  the  field,  without  any 
other  shelter  from  the  inclemency  of  the  seasons 
than  tents  or  such  houses  as  they  could  build  for 
themselves  without  expense  to  the  public.  They 


278     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

have  encountered  cold,  hunger  and  nakedness. 
They  have  fought  many  battles  and  bled  freely. 
They  have  done  this  without  pay."  This  superb 
tribute  to  the  men  whose  blood  flows  in  the  veins 
of  the  Sons  and  Daughters  of  the  American  Revo 
lution,  concludes  with  an  earnest  appeal  to  Con 
gress  for  harmony.  The  jealousies  already  evident 
between  the  states  filled  his  heart  with  anguish. 
He  continues,  "  Unless  our  Union  can  be  fixed 
upon  this  basis  —  the  removal  of  the  local  preju 
dices  which  intrude  upon  and  embarrass  that  great 
line  of  policy  which  alone  can  make  us  a  free, 
happy  and  powerful  people  —  unless  our  Union  can 
be  fixed  on  such  a  basis  as  to  accomplish  these, 
certain  am  I  that  we  have  toiled,  bled  and  spent  our 
treasure  to  very  little  purpose" 

With  this  eloquent  utterance  we  conclude  our 
extracts  from  the  half-burned  letters,  with  which 
the  poor  negro's  egg-basket  was  lined. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    BATTLE-GROUND 

IN  Virginia,  about  to  become  the  battle-ground 
of  the  Revolution,  the  condition  of  affairs  was 
gloomy,  humiliating,  apparently  almost  desper 
ate.  After  a  war  of  five  years  the  state  was  still  un 
fortified,  unarmed,  unprepared.  Her  strength,  her 
money,  her  sons  had  been  sent  to  fight  her  battles 
in  the  North.  She  had  entered  the  war  already 
loaded  with  debt  from  the  Indian  and  French  wars, 
and  further  depleted  through  her  patriotic  non 
importation  policy.  Navigable  rivers  ran,  at  inter 
vals  of  a  few  miles,  from  her  interior  to  the  coast. 
An  invading  fleet  had  but  to  sail  up  these  rivers, 
to  lay  waste  the  entire  country,  and  end  all  by  a 
single,  well-directed  blow. 

Virginia  was  slow  to  appreciate  the  necessity  of 
an  armed  naval  force.  She  never  desired  to  meet 
her  enemy  at  sea.  One  of  her  sons  declared  in 
Congress,  "  I  deem  it  no  sacrifice  of  dignity  to  say 
to  the  Leviathan  of  the  deep,  c  We  cannot  contend 
with  you  in  your  own  element,  but  if  you  come 
within  our  limits  we  will  shed  our  last  drop  of  blood 
in  their  defence,'  "  adding  "  What !  Shall  the  great 
mammoth  of  the  American  forests  leave  his  native 

279 


280    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

element,  and  plunge  into  the  water  in  a  mad  contest 
with  a  shark  ?  Let  him  stay  on  shore  and  not  be 
excited  by  the  muscles  and  periwinkles  on  the  strand 
to  venture  on  the  perils  of  the  deep.  Why  take  to 
water  where  he  can  neither  fight  or  swim  ?  " 

But  in  1775  tne  Convention  of  Virginia  directed 
the  Committee  of  Safety  to  procure  armed  vessels 
for  the  better  defence  of  the  colony.1  About  seventy 
vessels  were  placed  in  service,  built  at  the  Chicka- 
hominy  Navy-yard,  South  Quay,  and  Hampton 
near  Norfolk.  George  Mason,  for  the  Committee 
of  Safety,  built  two  galleys  and  a  fine  battle  ship, 
The  American  Congress^  to  carry  fourteen  guns  and 
ninety-six  marines.  The  vessels  were  to  serve  sep 
arately  for  the  defence  of  the  coast,  but  there  was 
great  difficulty  in  obtaining  sailors  to  man  them. 
Among  the  seamen  were  faithful  negroes  who  pur 
chased  their  freedom  by  serving  through  the  war. 
These  ships  sometimes  captured  sloops  laden  with 
supplies  for  the  officers  of  the  invading  army. 
Luxuries  intended  for  British  officers  found  their 
way  to  rebel  tables.  The  planters  lacked  many  es 
sential  articles,  —  food,  clothing,  medicines,  —  but 
they  had  a  pineapple  now  and  then.  They  sent 
out  their  own  tobacco  in  ships  which  often  never 
returned,  and  in  time  most  of  the  Virginia  ships 
were  either  destroyed  or  captured.  Then  it  was 
that  John  Paul  Jones  obtained  a  commission  from 

1  Campbell's  "  History  of  Virginia." 


The  Battle-ground  281 

Congress  to  "  harass  the  enemies  of  the  Common 
wealth,"  and  swept  the  seas. 

In  January,  1781,  Virginia  was  invaded  by  the 
enemy.  Tarleton's  cavalry  carried  the  torch  and 
sword  throughout  the  whole  James  River  region, 
burned  houses,  carried  off  horses,  cutting  the  throats 
of  those  too  young  for  service.  They  made  a 
dash  to  the  mountains  and  captured  seven  members 
of  the  assembly,  then  in  session  at  CharlottesviUe, 
announcing  an  intention  to  go  as  far  as  Freder- 
icksburg  and  Mount  Vernon.  In  May,  Tarleton 
was  confidently  expected  at  Fredericksburg.  The 
planters  abandoned  their  homes  and  removed  their 
families  from  place  to  place  for  safety.  The  home 
stead  was  totally  destroyed  or  pillaged,  china 
pounded  up,  servants  carried  off,  and  every 
animal  stolen  or  slaughtered.  "  Were  it  possible," 
said  one  old  citizen,  "  I  should  remove  my  family 
to  some  other  country,  for  nothing  can  compensate 
for  the  sufferings  and  alarms  they  daily  experience. 
Scarce  do  they  remain  one  week  in  a  place,  before 
they  are  obliged  to  abandon  their  shelter  and  seek 
an  asylum  from  the  bounty  of  others."  The  state 
was  swept  as  by  a  tornado  —  growing  crops  de 
stroyed,  plantations  laid  waste.  The  destruction  of 
property  was  estimated  at  thirteen  million  sterling. 
So  dearly  did  the  peaceful  citizens  of  Virginia  pur 
chase  freedom  for  their  descendants  ! 

Among  the  stories  of  this  prince  of  raiders  still 


282    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

told  at  Virginia  firesides,  is  one  of  a  day  when  he 
made  a  clean  sweep  of  everything  portable  on  an 
old  lady's  plantation.  Standing  calmly  in  her  door 
way,  she  watched  the  rifling  of  her  poultry-yard. 
One  cowardly  and  aged  Muscovy  drake  basely 
abandoned  his  harem  and  hid  in  a  hedge.  The  old 
dame  espied  him  just  as  Tarleton  and  his  staff  rode 
off.  "  Here,  you  Jim,"  she  called  to  a  negro  lad  ; 
"  catch  that  old  duck  and  ride  for  your  life  after 
that  general.  Tell  him  he  forgot  one  lean  old 
duck,  and  I  send  it  to  him  with  my  compliments." 
"  What  did  he  say  ?  "  she  asked  the  boy  on  his 
return.  "  He  jes  put  dat  old  Muscovy  in  he 
wallet,  an'  he  say  he  much  obliged." 

The  raids  of  the  enemy  along  the  navigable 
waters  of  Virginia  became  incessant.  Gunboats 
would  ascend  the  rivers,  to  the  terror  of  all  who 
dwelt  on  their  banks.  One  of  these  went  up  the 
Pamunkey  at  night,  and  was  kept  from  landing  by 
a  handful  of  men  who  fired,  ran  on  ahead  and  fired 
again,  and  so  on  until  the  captain,  believing  himself 
to  be  in  the  midst  of  a  large  force  on  shore,  and  un 
certain  as  to  the  possibility  of  return,  hoisted  a 
white  flag  in  the  moonlight  and  surrendered  !  Then 
the  captain  on  shore  (John  Otey,  with  only  twenty 
men)  was,  indeed,  in  a  dilemma  !  Waiting  until  the 
moon  went  down,  he  ordered  the  crew  ashore,  for 
bade  any  to  speak,  took  their  arms  and  marched 
them  through  the  darkness  to  headquarters  ! 


The  Battle-ground  283 

A  schooner  on  April  9,  1781,  ascended  the 
Potomac  as  far  as  Alexandria,  landing  at  every 
house  on  the  way,  burning,  destroying,  stealing, 
loudly  declaring  their  errand  to  "  burn  out  the 
traitors,  George  Washington  and  George  Mason." 

On  the  1 2th  six  armed  vessels  ascended  the  river, 
and  the  counties  of  Stafford,  Prince  William,  and 
Fairfax  became  the  "scene  of  war."  Fifty  miles 
from  Fredericksburg,  Cornwallis  was  encamped  with 
his  main  body  of  the  British  army.  Twenty  miles 
from  Fredericksburg,  Lafayette  was  protecting,  with 
his  small  force,  the  homes  of  the  mother,  wife,  and 
sister  of  the  commander-in-chief.  "  Before  this 
letter  reaches  you,"  warned  Colonel  Bannister,  "  the 
enemy  will  have  penetrated  to  Fredericksburg." 

To  be  brave  and  serene  became  the  high  duty  of 
the  commander's  family.  They  must  present  an 
example  of  fortitude  and  courage.  This  was  the 
obligation  laid  upon  them  by  their  position.  Nor 
did  they  demand,  because  of  this  position,  anything 
more  than  the  protection  accorded  to  all.  No 
sentries  or  guards  were  posted  around  their  dwell 
ings,  no  force  detailed  for  their  special  protection. 
When  Mary  Washington's  daughter  expressed  alarm, 
her  mother  reminded  her  that  "  the  sister  of  the 
commanding  General  must  be  an  example  of  forti 
tude  and  faith."  Even  the  general  himself  could 
not  repress  a  cry  of  anguish  when  he  heard  of  the 
desolation  of  his  native  state.  "  Would  to  God," 


284    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

he  said,  "  would  to  God  the  country  could  rise  as 
one  man  and  extirpate  Cornwallis  and  his  whole 
band  !  " 

The  general's  family  held  their  posts  in  calm 
silence,  expressing  no  excitement  or  alarm.  Tarle- 
ton's  cavalry  —  mounted  on  Virginia's  race-horses 
—  were  dashing  all  over  the  country,  and  liable  at 
any  moment  to  appear  wherever  it  pleased  him. 
For  Mary  Washington  there  was  no  security,  no 
peace,  save  in  the  sanctuary  of  her  own  bosom. 
Virginia  was  the  battle-ground,  convulsed  through 
her  borders  with  alarms  !  Finally,  General  Wash 
ington  could  bear  it  no  longer.  Despite  her  re 
monstrance  he  removed  his  mother  to  the  county 
of  Frederick,  in  the  interior  of  the  state,  where 
she  remained  for  a  short  time  to  escape  the  Red 
Dragoons  of  the  dreaded  Tarleton. 

"  As  for  our  present  distresses,"  he  wrote  to 
George  Mason,  "  they  are  so  great  and  complicated 
that  it  is  scarcely  within  the  powers  of  description  to 
give  an  adequate  idea  of  them.  We  are  without 
money  and  have  been  so  for  a  long  time ;  without 
provision  and  forage,  without  clothing,  and  shortly 
shall  be  (in  a  manner)  without  men.  In  a  word, 
we  have  lived  upon  expedients  till  we  can  live  no 
longer." 

The  eventful  year  of  1781  — destined  to  bring  so 
great  a  deliverance  to  the  country  —  brought  infinite 
sorrow  to  Mary  Washington  and  her  daughter. 


The  Battle-ground  285 

The  good  man  and  pure  patriot,  Fielding  Lewis, 
died  in  January.  Always  too  frail  in  health  to  bear 
arms,  he  had  sent  his  sons  to  the  front,  advanced 
£7000  for  the  manufacture  of  arms,  and  so  impover 
ished  himself  by  advances  of  money  to  the  colony 
that  he  was  unable  to  pay  his  taxes  (Calendar  State 
Papers,  Vol.  i,  p.  503  ;  Henings  Statutes,  Vol.  ix, 
p.  71). 

In  the  same  year  Samuel  Washington  died  at  his 
home,  "  Harewood,"  in  Jefferson  County.  The 
family  bond  was  close  in  Mary  Washington's  house 
hold  and  no  one  was  dearer  than  her  son  Samuel  ! 

Washington's  letters  in  1780  repeat  the  story  of 
Valley  Forge.  "  The  present  situation  of  the  army" 
(Jan.  8,  1780)  "is  the  most  distressing  of  any 
we  have  experienced  since  the  beginning  of  the  war. 
For  a  fortnight  past  the  troops,  both  officers  and 
men,  have  been  almost  perishing  from  want.  The 
troops  are  half  starved,  imperfectly  clothed,  riotous, 
and  robbing  the  country  people  of  their  subsistence 
from  sheer  necessity."  In  April  things  had  not 
improved.  "  We  are  on  the  point  of  starving,"  he 
wrote  to  Reed  of  Pennsylvania.  "  I  have  almost 
ceased  to  hope.  The  country  in  general  is  in  such 
a  state  of  insensibility  and  indifference  to  its  inter 
ests  that  I  dare  not  flatter  myself  with  any  change 
for  the  better."  And  he  adds,  like  a  sigh  of  hope 
less  anguish,  "  In  modern  wars  the  longest  purse 
must  chiefly  determine  the  event." 


286    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

The  English  were  fully  cognizant  of  this  state  of 
affairs.  "  We  look  on  America  as  at  our  feet," 
wrote  Horace  Walpole,  in  1780,  to  Mann. 

"  Poorly  clothed,  badly  fed,  and  worse  paid,"  said 
General  Wayne  in  1780,  "some  of  them  not  having 
had  a  paper  dollar  for  nearly  twelve  months  ;  ex 
posed  to  winter's  piercing  cold,  to  drifting  snows 
and  chilling  blasts,  with  no  protection  but  old  worn- 
out  coats,  tattered  linen  overalls,  and  but  one  blanket 
between  three  men  !  In  this  situation,  the  enemy 
begin  to  work  upon  their  passions,  and  have  found 
means  to  circulate  proclamations  among  them.  The 
officers  in  general,  as  well  as  myself,  stand  for  hours 
every  day  exposed  to  wind  and  weather  among  the 
poor  naked  fellows  while  they  are  working  at  their 
huts,  assisting  with  our  own  hands,  sharing  every 
vicissitude  in  common  with  them,  participating  in 
their  ration  of  bread  and  water.  The  delicate  mind 
and  eye  of  humanity  are  hurt  —  very  much  hurt  — 
at  their  distress." 

These  were  the  trials  to  which  the  soldiers  of  the 
American  Revolution  were  subjected,  and  which 
those  who  endured  to  the  end  bore  without  mur 
muring  ;  for  no  stress  of  suffering  could  wring  from 
their  brave  hearts  a  word  of  injury  to  the  cause  for 
which  they  suffered  ! 

May  the  honors  now  so  gladly  awarded  to  those 
brave  men,  by  those  descended  from  them,  never 
be  given  by  inadvertence  or  mistake  to  the  caitiff 


The  Battle-ground  287 

host  that  forsook  their  commander  in  his  dark 
hour ! 

The  army  that  bore  the  sufferings  of  which  so 
many  have  written  was  a  small  one.  Few  armies 
have  ever  shown  a  nobler  self-devotion  than  that 
which  remained  with  Washington  through  the  dreary 
winter  at  Valley  Forge,  but  the  conscientious  his 
torian  must  not  give  honor  equally  to  them  and  the 
mighty  host  of  the  American  people  who  had  no 
sympathy  with  the  movement.  Washington  him 
self  wrote,  Dec.  30,  1778,  "  If  I  were  called  upon 
to  draw  a  picture  of  the  times  and  of  the  men 
from  what  I  have  seen,  heard,  and  part  know,  I 
should  in  one  word  say  that  idleness,  dissipation, 
and  extravagance  seem  to  have  laid  fast  hold  upon 
them ;  that  speculation,  peculation  and  an  insatiable 
thirst  for  riches  seem  to  have  got  the  better  of  every 
other  consideration  —  that  party  disputes  and  quar 
rels  are  the  great  business  of  the  day ;  whilst  the 
momentous  concerns  of  an  empire,  a  great  and  ac 
cumulating  debt,  ruined  finances,  depreciated  money, 
and  want  of  credit  —  which  in  its  consequence  is 
want  of  everything — are  but  of  secondary  con 
sideration." 

Under  these  circumstances  the  nobility  and  beauty 
of  the  character  of  Washington  can  indeed  hardly 
be  surpassed.  "He  commanded,"  says  Lecky,  "a 
perpetually  fluctuating  army,  almost  wholly  destitute 
of  discipline  and  respect  for  authority,  torn  by  the 


288    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

most  violent  personal  and  provincial  jealousies, 
wretchedly  armed,  wretchedly  clothed,  and  some 
times  in  danger  of  starvation.  Unsupported  for  the 
most  part  by  the  population  among  whom  he  was 
quartered,  and  incessantly  thwarted  by  Congress,  he 
kept  his  army  together  by  a  combination  of  skill, 
firmness,  patience,  and  judgment  which  has  rarely 
been  surpassed,  and  he  led  it  at  last  to  a  signal 
triumph." 

But  while  he  thus  held  his  army  discontent,  dis 
trust,  suspicion,  —  the  train  which  inevitably  follows 
failure,  —  possessed  the  minds  of  the  people  and 
embittered  the  hearts  of  those  who  were  striving  to 
serve  them.  The  leaders  were  blamed  for  the  mis 
fortunes  of  the  time,  their  ability  doubted,  their 
patriotism  suspected. 

Thus  hampered  and  trammelled,  weak,  sick  at 
heart,  America  stretched  out  appealing  hands  to 
France. 


CHAPTER   VI 


FRANCE    IN    THE    REVOLUTION 

THE  rebellion  of  the  colonies  had  been  long 
expected    in    France.      As   early  as    1750, 
Turgot,   before    the    Sorbonne,   had   com 
pared    colonies    to    fruits    which    only    remain    on 
the  stem  until  they 
reach  maturity,  and 
then  drop  off. 

Vergennes,  in  con 
versation  with  an 
English  traveller, 
had  predicted  : 
"England  will  soon 
repent  of  having 
removed  the  only 
check  that  can  keep 
her  colonies  in  awe. 
They  stand  no 
longer  in  need  of 
her  protection.  She 
will  call  upon  them  to  contribute  towards  support 
ing  the  burdens  they  have  helped  to  bring  on  her. 
They  will  answer  by  striking  off  all  dependence." 


Vergennes. 


290    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 


France  had  excellent  reasons  for  hating  England. 
Her  lilies  had  gone  down  again  and  again  before  the 
British  flag.  Despoiled  by  England  of  her  Ameri 
can  and  Canadian  possessions,  dislodged  from  her 
foothold  in  India,  subjected  to  the  espionage,  and 

stung  by  the  ar 
rogance  of  her 
enemy,  her  policy 
was  directed  tow 
ard  one  object, 
the  rehabilitation 
of  her  former 
glory  at  the  ex 
pense  of  her 
greatest  rival.1 

Louis  the  Six 
teenth,  young  and 
pleasure-loving, 
was  glad  to  shift 
all  responsibility 
upon  his  able  ad 
visers, —  Mau- 
repas,  whom  he 

tolerated,  Vergennes,  whom  he  feared  and  respected, 
and  Beaumarchais,  the  son  of  a  watchmaker,  author  of 
"  Le  Mariage  de  Figaro  "  and  "  Le  Barbier  de  Seville," 
—  whom  he  cordially  admired  and  loved,  and  who 
had  probably  more  influence  at  court  than  all  the 

1  Edwardes's  "Translations  ofLemonie,"  p.  259. 


Beaumarchais. 


France  in  the  Revolution  291 

rest  put  together.  These  were  the  men  with  whom 
Deane  and  Franklin  labored,  with  varying  result,  for 
many  years  —  sometimes  thwarted  and  discouraged, 
at  others  cheered  by  promises,  and  sustained  by  sub 
stantial  favors.  Presents  of  money  were  given  by 


Silas  Deane. 

France  to  America,  and  her  ports  were  open  to 
American  trading-vessels.  But  England  had  a 
vigilant  ambassador  at  the  French  court,  watching 
like  a  cat  lest  the  plucky  little  mouse  should  ven 
ture  too  far.  It  behooved  the  mouse  to  keep  well 
in  hiding.  He  could  hope  to  gain  an  advantage 
over  his  enemy  by  stealthy  diplomacy  only. 


292    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

France  had,  early  in  September,  1776,  sent  secret 
messengers  to  America  to  ascertain  the  state  of  af 
fairs  and  report  to  the  court  of  Versailles.  Congress 


Benjamin  Franklin. 

sent  Silas  Deane,  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  Arthur 
Lee  to  plead  the  cause  of  the  colonists  at  the  French 
court,  and  negotiate  treaties  with  foreign  powers.1 

Franklin,   on    being    selected,   had    said    to    Dr. 
Rush,    "  I    am   old    and  good  for  nothing,  but,  as 

1  Sparks's  "  Diplomatic  Correspondence,"  Vol.  I,  p.  5. 


France  in  the  Revolution  293 

store  keepers  say  of  their  remnants  of  cloth,  I  am 
but  a  fag-end,  and  you  may  have  me  for  what  you 
please;"1  but  Franklin  had  strong  personal  reasons 
for  hating  England.  Accused  once  by  the  solicitor- 
general  (Wedderburn,  Lord  Loughborough)  of 
stealing  political  letters,  the  latter  had  arraigned 
him  and  poured  upon  his  head  all  the  vials  of  min 
isterial  wrath,  branding  him  as  a  thief  in  the  most 
fearful  philippic  ever  pronounced  against  man.2 
"Franklin  stood,"  says  Dr.  Priestly,  "conspicu 
ously  erect  during  the  harangue,  and  kept  his  coun 
tenance  as  immovable  as  wood."  He  was  dressed 
in  a  suit  of  Manchester  velvet,  which  he  laid  aside 
and  never  wore  after  the  terrible  lashing  of  Lord 
Loughborough  ;  but,  "  Seven  years  afterwards,  on 
the  termination  of  the  war,  so  triumphant  to  his 
own  country,  and  so  humiliating  to  Britain,  he 
signed  the  articles  of  Peace,  being  then  Ambassador 
at  Paris,  dressed  in  the  Manchester  velvet" — once 
the  garment  of  heaviness  and  humiliation,  now 
the  royal  robe  of  triumph  ! 

He  became,  fortunately,  a  toast  at  the  French 
court.  The  statesman  who  could  write  ballads  and 
invent  musical  instruments  possessed  a  charming 
versatility  which  attracted  the  French.  How  ver 
satile  he  still  could  be,  even  in  old  age,  is  attested 

1  Parton's  "  Franklin,"  Vol.  II,  p.  166. 

2  "Lives  of  the  Lord  Chancellors  of  England,"  by  Lord  Campbell,  Vol.  VI, 
pp.  iio-ni. 


294    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

by  the  fact  that  poets,  philosophers,  and  men  of 
fashion,  —  Vergennes,  Voltaire,  Turgot,  —  nay,  the 
queen  herself,  admired  and  sought  him.  Turgot 
described  him  in  a  line  which  afterwards  adorned 
the  snuff-boxes,  medallions,  and  rings  of  the  court. 
On  these  Franklin's  head  appeared,  with  this  legend, 
Eripuit  fulmen  sceptrumque  tyrannus^  the  dignified, 
old,  unpowdered  head,  its  thin  hair  concealed  by  a 
fur  cap,  which  yet  had  wisdom  to  guide  the  hand 
that  "  tore  the  lightning  from  heaven  and  the 
sceptre  from  the  tyrant !  " 

It  was  not  designed  by  Providence  that  America 
should  fail  in  her  contest.  Rough-hewn  as  her 
methods  must  perforce  be,  they  were  given  shape 
by  the  hand  that  guides  our  ends.  Every  event 
here,  every  move  on  the  chess-board  in  France, 
tended  to  the  same  result.  One  of  the  fifteen 
decisive  battles  of  the  world  was  fought  at  Sara 
toga.  "  The  Capitulation  of  General  Burgoyne  to 
Mr.  Gates "  (as  the  English  in  their  wrath  ex 
pressed  it)  turned  the  tide  of  affairs.  It  resulted 
immediately  in  the  alliance  with  France,  so  long 
and  ardently  desired,  without  which  this  country 
might  not  have  won  independence. 

Of  course,  we  sent  post-haste  to  tell  the  good 
news  of  this  victory  to  our  long-suffering  envoy  at 
the  French  court.  The  "Capitulation  to  Mr. 
Gates"  occurred  Oct.  17,  1777;  the  news  reached 
Franklin  Dec.  4,  of  the  same  year  —  nearly  two 


France  in  the  Revolution 


295 


months  afterward.  But  we  are  the  last  people 
who  should  ever  lament  the  want  of  telegraphic 
service  in  our  early  history.  Had  such  existed 
during  the  Revolution,  we  would  surely  this  day 


- 


General  Burgoyne. 

be  sending  our  humble  duty,  with  many  gifts, 
to  our  Gracious  Sovereign,  his  Most  Sacred  Maj 
esty,  Edward  VII,  upon  his  coronation.  A  polite 
ambassador  would  not  be  nearly  sufficient. 

When  Benjamin   Franklin  received  the   news   he 
was  quietly  dining,  not  dreaming  of  any  better  for- 


296     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

tune  than  that  we  should  be  able  to  hold  Philadel 
phia.1  No  more  dramatic  scene  can  be  imagined 
than  that  which  took  place  on  the  evening  of 
Dec.  4,  1777,  when  Jonathan  Austin's  chaise 
rapidly  drove  into  the  courtyard  at  Passy  and 


General  Gates. 

rudely  interrupted  Dr.  Franklin's  dinner-party. 
The  guests,  among  whom  were  Beaumarchais, 
rushed  out.  "  Sir,"  exclaimed  Franklin,  "  is  Phila 
delphia  taken  ?  "  "  Yes,  Sir,"  replied  Austin  ;  and 
Franklin  clasped  his  hands  and  turned  to  reenter 
the  house.  Austin  cried,  "I  have  better  and 

1  Morse's  "  Franklin,"  p.  267, 


France  in  the  Revolution  297 

greater  news ;  General  Burgoyne  and  his  whole 
army  are  prisoners  of  war."  Beaumarchais  set  out 
with  all  speed  to  notify  Vergennes,  and  he  drove 
with  such  haste  that  his  coach  upset,  and  he  dis 
located  his  arm. 


Rochambeau. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  July  10,  1780,  that 
Rochambeau  wrote  from  Newport  to  Washington  : 
"  We  are  now  at  your  command.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  for  me  to  tell  your  Excellency  that  I 
bring  sufficient  cash  for  whatever  is  needed  by  the 
King's  army." 


298     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Lafayette  was  holding  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown, 
having  orders  from  Washington  that  he  was  on  no 
account  to  be  permitted  to  escape.  In  order  to 
prevent  this  it  was  necessary  to  have  the  assistance 
of  the  French  fleet.  To  this  end  he  despatched  a 
frigate  to  Cape  Henry,  where  De  Grasse  was 


De  Grasse. 

expected  to  touch,  urging  him  to  come  up  Chesa 
peake  Bay  as  soon  as  possible  to  clear  the  James 
River  and  blockade  the  York.  This  word  was 
received  by  De  Grasse,  who  arrived  with  his  fleet  of 
twenty-eight  ships  of  the  line  in  Chesapeake  Bay 
on  Aug.  30,  1781. 

The  French  forces  then  joined  Washington  in  a 


France  in  the  Revolution  299 

rapid  march  to  Virginia,  having  made  a  feint  of 
attacking  New  York,  and  thus  deceived  Sir  Henry 
Clinton.  Well  for  us  there  were  no  railroads  or 
telegraph  wires  in  those  days  !  Washington  and  his 
allies  were  not  discovered  until  they  were  almost  in 
front  of  Cornwallis. 

The  march  through  Philadelphia  was  a  species  of 
triumph.  And  now  who  more  ready  than  the  Tory 
ladies  to  welcome  and  applaud  !  "  The  windows 
were  filled  with  ladies  waving  handkerchiefs  and 
uttering  exclamations  of  joy.  The  ragged  Conti 
nentals  came  first  with  their  torn  battle-flags  and  can 
non  ;  and  the  French  followed  in  gay  white  uniforms 
faced  with  green  to  the  sound  of  martial  music.  A 
long  time  had  passed  since  Philadelphia  had  seen 
such  a  pageant ;  the  last  resembling  it  had  been  the 
splendid  Mischianza  festival,  devised  by  poor  Andre 
in  the  days  of  the  British  occupation,"1  and  enjoyed, 
alas,  by  these  same  ladies,  while  these  same  Conti 
nentals  were  starving  and  perishing  with  cold  ! 

They  were  equal  to  any  situation,  these  Philadel 
phia  ladies  !  The  first  duty  of  woman,  according 
to  them,  was  to  make  herself  agreeable  to  the  pow 
ers  that  be  —  the  heroes  of  the  hour.  Said  Wash 
ington  Irving,  "  The  beauties  who  had  crowned  the 
British  Knights  in  the  chivalrous  time  of  the  Mis 
chianza,  were  now  ready  to  bestow  wreaths  and 
smiles  on  their  Gallic  rivals." 

1  Irving's  "Life  of  Washington. " 


300    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Fifteen  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  allied  forces 
successful  assaults  were  made  upon  the  enemy's  re 
doubts,  Washington  putting  the  match  to  the  first 
gun ;  and  on  Oct.  17,  Cornwallis,  after  having 
made  unsuccessful  efforts  to  relieve  his  position  and 
to  escape  by  water,  proposed  a  cessation  of  hostilities 


Lord  Cornwallis. 

and  the  appointment  of  commissioners  to  settle 
terms  of  surrender.  On  Oct.  19,  in  pursuance 
of  articles  of  capitulation,  drawn  by  Vicomte  de 
Noualles  and  Colonel  Laurens,  representing  the 
allies,  and  Colonel  Dundas  and  Major  Ross,  repre 
senting  the  British,  Lord  Cornwallis  surrendered ; 
the  English  marching  out  to  the  tune,  "  The 
World's  Turned  Upside  Down,"  —  a  fact  which  was, 


France  in  the  Revolution  301 

no  doubt,  accepted  by  the  brave  Cornwallis  as  the 
only  solution  to  the  turn  events  had  taken. 

"  The  work  is  done  and  well  done/'  said  Wash 
ington  as  he  heard  the  long  shout  of  the  French  and 
the  Americans. 

To  Maurepas,  in  France,  Lafayette  wrote  :  — 

"  The  play  is  over,  Monsieur  le  Compte,  the  fifth 
act  has  just  come  to  an  end." 

"  It's  all  over  now,"  said  our  old  friend  Lord 
North,2  heartily  relieved,  we  may  well  believe,  to  be 
rid  of  all  the  bother. 

At  midnight  on  Oct.  23,  1781,  Philadelphia 
was  startled  by  the  cry,  "  Cornwallis  is  taken." 
And  on  Oct.  24,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Randolph, 
it  was  resolved,  "  That  Congress  at  2  o'clock  this 
day  go  in  procession  to  the  Dutch  Lutheran 
Church  and  return  thanks  to  Almighty  God  for 
crowning  the  allied  arms  of  the  United  States  and 
France  with  success  by  the  surrender  of  the  whole 
British  Army  under  the  command  of  the  Earl  of 
Cornwallis."8 

But  not  with  joy  and  gratitude  was  the  news  re 
ceived  by  old  Lord  Fairfax,  who  had  given  Washing 
ton  his  first  opportunity  in  life.  He  had  liked  the 
fifteen-year-old  lad,  had  taught  him  to  follow  the 
hounds,  and  been  his  cordial  friend  as  long  as  he 
fought  for  the  Crown.  Lord  Fairfax,  "  the  Nimrod 

1  Tower's  "Lafayette,"  Vol.  II,  p.  455.         2  Bancroft,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  430. 
3  Journals  of  Congress,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  679-682. 


302     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

of  Greenway  Court,"  was  now  ninety-two  years  old. 
"  When  he  heard/'  says  the  irrepressible  Parson 
Weems,  "  that  Washington  had  captured  Cornwallis 
and  all  his  army,  he  called  to  his  black  waiter : 
1  Come,  Joe  !  Carry  me  to  bed,  for  it  is  high  time 
for  me  to  die.'  ' 

"  Then  up  rose  Joe,  all  at  the  word 

And  took  his  master's  arm. 
And  thus  to  bed  he  softly  laid 
The  Lord  of  Greenway  farm. 

"There  oft  he  called  on  Britain's  name 

And  oft  he  wept  full  sore. 
Then  sighed,  '  Thy  will,  O  Lord,  be  done/ 
And  word  spake  never  more." 

The  old  Royalist's  heart  had  broken  with  grief 
and  disappointment. 

But  how  was  the  aged  mother  to  hear  the  news  ? 
Would  her  heart  break  with  the  sudden  access  of 
joy? 

Washington  himself  despatched  a  courier  to  her 
with  the  news  of  the  surrender.  She  raised  her 
hands  to  heaven  and  exclaimed  with  the  deepest 
fervor :  — 

"Thank  God!  Thank  God!  All  the  fighting 
and  killing  is  over.  The  war  is  ended  and  now  we 
shall  have  peace  and  happiness." 

Mindful  of  her  age  her  son  would  not  come  to 
her  suddenly  and  unheralded.  He  could  not  come 


France  in  the  Revolution  303 

immediately.  He  had  to  attend  to  the  distribution 
of  ordnance  and  stores,  the  departure  of  prisoners, 
the  embarkation  of  troops,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
courtesies  of  the  hour  —  such  as  the  selection  of  two 
beautiful  horses  as  a  present  to  De  Grasse,  who  did 
not  sail  until  Nov.  4.  He  was  then  summoned  in 
haste  to  Eltham,  the  seat  of  his  old  friend  Colonel 
Bassett,  there  to  fold  his  tender  arms  around  the 
dying  form  of  Parke  Custis  and  receive  his  last 
breath.  Years  before,  he  had  thus  comforted  the 
sweet  young  sister,  "  Patsy  Custis,"  in  her  last  hour. 

Martha  Washington,  the  mother,  and  the  wife 
and  four  children  of  Parke  Custis  (who  was  only 
twenty-eight  years  old)  were  all  at  Eltham,  and  with 
them  Washington  remained  until  the  last  tribute  of 
respect  was  paid  to  the  deceased.  And  that  he 
might  comfort  his  wife  and  help  the  young  widow, 
he  then  and  there  adopted  George  Washington 
Parke  Custis  and  Nellie  Custis  into  his  family. 

From  Eltham  he  proceeded  immediately  on 
pressing  business  with  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  and 
not  until  Nov.  1 1  did  he  reach  Fredericksburg. 


CHAPTER    VII 

"  ON    WITH     THE     DANCE,    LET    JOY     BE     UNCONFINED  " 

THAT  was  a  great  day  when  the  news  came 
to  Fredericksburg  —  "  Cornwallis  has  sur 
rendered."  "With  red  spurs"  rode  the 
couriers  that  carried  the  glad  tidings,  and  the  -hearts 
of  the  people  leaped  with  joy.  Twenty-eight  British 
captains  had  stepped  forth  from  the  lines  and  sur 
rendered  as  many  colors  to  the  ragged  Continentals. 
With  instinctive  magnanimity  the  conquerors  had 
given  a  banquet  to  their  captive  officers,  and  Wash 
ington  had  saluted  Cornwallis  with  a  toast  to  the 
British  army.  Thus  the  brave  honor  the  brave. 
And  now  —  courtesies  all  rendered,  the  sword 
sheathed,  the  guns  stacked  —  the  great  commander 
was  coming  home,  first  to  his  mother,  attended  by 
a  brilliant  retinue  of  French  and  American  officers. 
When  the  soldier  of  his  people  laid  his  country's 
freedom  at  his  mother's  feet,  if  ever  in  this  world  a 
foretaste  of  heavenly  joy  be  given  to  human  beings, 
to  Mary  and-  George  Washington  alike  this  was  the 
hour.  Says  Mr.  Custis  :  — 

"  After  an  absence  of  nearly  seven  years,  it  was, 
at   length,  on  the  return   of  the   combined   armies 

3°4 


On  with  the  Dance" 


305 


from  Yorktown,  permitted  to  the  mother  again  to 
see  and  embrace  her  illustrious  son.  So  soon  as  he 
had  dismounted,  in  the  midst  of  a  numerous  and 
brilliant  suite,  he  sent  to  apprise  her  of  his  arrival, 
and  to  know  when  it  would  be  her  pleasure  to  re 
ceive  him.  No  pageantry  of  war  proclaimed  his 
coming,  no  trumpets  sounded,  no  banners  waved. 
Alone  and  on  foot,  the  Marshal  of  France,  the 
general-in-chief  of  the  combined  armies  of  France 
and  America,  the  deliverer  of  his  country,  the  hero 
of  the  age,  repaired  to  pay  his  humble  duty  to  her 
whom  he  venerated  as  the  author  of  his  being,  the 
founder  of  his  fortune  and  his  fame.  For  full  well 
he  knew  that  the  matron  would  not  be  moved  by 
all  the  pride  that  glory  ever  gave,  nor  by  all  the 
c  pomp  and  circumstance  '  of  power. 

"The  lady  was  alone,  her  aged  hands  employed  in 
the  works  of  domestic  industry,  when  the  good  news 
was  announced;  and  it  was  further  told  that  the 
victor  chief  was  in  waiting  at  the  threshold.  She 
welcomed  him  with  a  warm  embrace,  and  by  the 
well-remembered  and  endearing  name  of  his  child 
hood  ;  inquiring  as  to  his  health,  she  remarked  the 
lines  which  mighty  cares  and  many  trials  had  made 
on  his  manly  countenance,  spoke  much  of  old  times 
and  old  friends,  but  of  his  glory  —  not  one  word." 

But  old  Fredericksburg  tells  a  story  so  character 
istic  that  we  are  fain  to  accept  it.  Her  neighbors 
had  gathered  at  her  door  to  congratulate  her ;  but 


306     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

before  they  spoke  with  her,  an  orderly  dashed  up, 
dismounted,  touched  his  three-cornered  hat  and 
said,  "  Madam  !  his  Excellency  will  be  here  within 


George  Washington  Parke  Custis. 

the  hour."  "  His  Excellency  !  Tell  George  I  shall 
be  glad  to  see  him,"  replied  the  dame  ;  and  turning 
to  her  wide-eyed  ebony  maid,  she  said,  "  Patsy,  I 
shall  need  a  white  apron." 


"On  with  the  Dance" 


Old  Fredericksburg  threw  its  hat  in  the  air  and 
declared  that  the  "  Indian  Queen  "  should  be  swept 
and  garnished,  and  the  Fredericksburg  beauties  tread 
a  measure  with  those  gay  foreigners.  This  thing  of 
"  belonging  to  the  country  "  was  all  very  well,  but 
George  Washington  was  a  Virginian  —  what  was  more, 
he  was  master-mason  in  the 
Fredericksburg  Lodge  No.  4, 
and  a  Fredericksburg  boy  out 
and  out.  "  But  would  Madam 
Washington  come  to  a  ball  ?  " 
Ay,  she  would.  Her  "danc 
ing  days  were  pretty  well 
over,"  but  she  would  "  be 
glad  to  contribute  to  the 
general  happiness." 

But  here  we  give  place 
again  to  Mr.  Custis,  for  he 
had  his  story  at  first  hands. 

"  Meantime,  in  the  village 
of  Fredericksburg,  all  was  joy 
and  revelry  ;  the  town  was  crowded  with  the  officers 
of  the  French  and  American  armies,  and  with  gen 
tlemen  from  all  the  country  around,  who  hastened 
to  welcome  the  conquerors  of  Cornwallis.  The  citi 
zens  made  arrangements  for  a  splendid  ball,  to  which 
the  mother  of  Washington  was  specially  invited. 
She  observed  that,  although  her  dancing  days 
were  pretty  well  over,  she  should  feel  happy  in 


The  Chair  used  by  George 
Washington  when  Master 
of  Fredericksburg  Lodge. 


308     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

contributing  to  the  general  festivity,  and  consented 
to  attend. 

"The  foreign  officers  were  anxious  to  see  the  mother 
of  their  chief.  They  had  heard  indistinct  rumors  re 
specting  her  remarkable  life  and  character  ;  but,  form 
ing  their  judgments  from  European  examples,  they 
were  prepared  to  expect  in  the  mother  that  glare  and 
show  which  would  have  been  attached  to  the  parents 
of  the  great  in  the  old  world.  How  they  were  sur 
prised  when  the  matron,  leaning  on  the  arm  of  her 
son,  entered  the  room  !  She  was  arrayed  in  the  very 
plain,  yet  becoming,  garb  worn  by  the  Virginian  lady 
of  the  olden  time.  Her  address,  always  dignified 
and  imposing,  was  courteous,  though  reserved.  She 
received  the  complimentary  attentions,  which  were 
profusely  paid  her,  without  evincing  the  slightest 
elevation  ;  and,  at  an  early  hour,  wishing  the  com 
pany  much  enjoyment  of  their  pleasures,  observing 
that  it  was  time  for  old  people  to  be  at  home,  retired. 

"  The  foreign  officers  were  amazed  to  behold  one 
so  many  causes  contributed  to  elevate,  preserving 
the  even  tenor  of  her  life,  while  such  a  blaze  of  glory 
shone  upon  her  name  and  offspring.  The  European 
world  furnished  no  examples  of  such  magnanimity. 
Names  of  ancient  lore  were  heard  to  escape  from 
their  lips ;  and  they  observed  that,  f  if  such  were 
the  matrons  of  America,  it  was  not  wonderful  the 
sons  were  illustrious/ 

"  It  was  on  this  festive  occasion  that  General  Wash- 


"  On  with  the  Dance  "  309 

ington  danced  a  minuet  with  Mrs.  Willis  "  (one  of 
the  Gregory  girls).  "  It  closed  his  dancing  days. 
The  minuet  was  much  in  vogue  at  that  period, 
and  was  peculiarly  calculated  for  the  display  of 
the  splendid  figure  of  the  chief  and  his  natural 
grace  and  elegance  of  air  and  manner.  The  gal 
lant  Frenchmen  who  were  present  —  of  which  fine 
people  it  may  be  said  that  dancing  forms  one  of  the 
elements  of  their  existence  —  so  much  admired  the 
American  performance  as  to  admit  that  a  Parisian 
education  could  not  have  improved  it.  As  the  even 
ing  advanced,  the  commander-in-chief,  yielding  to 
the  gayety  of  the  scene,  went  down  some  dozen 
couples  in  the  contra-dance,  with  great  spirit  and 
satisfaction." 

But  General  Washington's  dancing  days  did  not 
close  with  the  Fredericksburg  ball.  Mr.  Custis  did 
not  know.  Two  years  later  Lieutenant  McAllister 
wrote  from  Baltimore :  "  A  ball  was  given  to  his 
most  excellent  Excellency  by  the  ladies  of  this 
town.  A  brilliant  collection  assembled  to  enter 
tain  him,  and  the  illustrious  Chief  led  and  mingled 
in  the  joyous  dance." 

The  commanding  general  had  perceived  the  wis 
dom  of  introducing  into  the  camp  life  some  relax 
ation  and  amusement,  as  the  Arctic  explorer  arranged 
a  series  of  theatricals  when  starvation  threatened  his 
ice-locked  crew.  In  the  year  and  month  in  which 
Washington  wrote  his  most  despairing  letter  to 


310    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

George  Mason,  there  were  frequent  balls  in  the 
camp  at  Middlebrook.  "  We  had  a  little  dance 
at  my  quarters,"  wrote  General  Greene  to  Colonel 
Wadsworth  in  March,  1779  (the  dark  hour),  "His 
Excellency  and  Mrs.  Greene  danced  upwards  of 
three  hours  without  once  sitting  down." 

Bishop  Meade,  in  his  intense  admiration  of  Wash 
ington  and  his  not  less  intense  abhorrence  of  danc 
ing,  reasons  that  these  reports  of  the  great  chief  could 
not  be  true.  They  were  undoubtedly  true.  Wash 
ington,  although  habitually  grave  and  thoughtful,  was 
of  a  social  disposition,  and  loved  cheerful  society. 
He  was  fond  of  the  dance,  and  it  was  the  boast  of 
many  Revolutionary  dames  that  he  had  been  their 
partner  in  contra-dances,  and  had  led  them  through 
the  stately  figures  of  the  minuet. 

Little  Maria  Mortimer,  aged  sixteen,  was  at  the 
Fredericksburg  ball.  Betty  Lewis  followed  the 
party  later  to  Mount  Vernon.  For  Maria  a  great 
dignity  was  in  store.  Her  father,  Dr.  Charles 
Mortimer,  issued  invitations  at  the  ball  for  a  great 
dinner  to  the  distinguished  strangers  the  next  day 
but  one,  and  his  wife  (Sarah  Griffin  Fauntleroy), 
being  too  ill  to  preside,  that  honor  fell  to  the 
daughter  of  the  house.1 

The  house,  an  immense  pile  of  English  brick, 
still  stands  on  the  lower  edge  of  the  town,  facing 
Main  Street,  with  a  garden  sloping  to  the  river, 

1  "  Maternal  Ancestry  of  Washington,"  by  G.  W.  Ball. 


"  On  with  the  Dance  "  311 

where  Dr.  Mortimer's  own  tobacco  ships  used  to 
run  up  to  discharge  their  return  English  cargoes  by 
a  channel  long  since  disused  and  filled  up. 

The  mansion  was  hastily  put  en  fete  —  which 
meant  swept  walks,  polished  floors,  and  abundant 
decoration  of  flowers  and  evergreens.  The  running 
cedar  of  Virginia,  with  its  plumy  tufts  of  green,  lent 
itself  gracefully  to  outline  doors  and  windows,  en 
circle  family  portraits,  and  hang  in  festoons  from  the 
antlers  of  the  deer  in  the  hall. 

The  table,  as  little  Maria  described  it  in  after 
years,  groaned  with  every  delicacy  of  land  and 
water,  served  in  massive  pewter  dishes  polished 
until  they  shone  again. 

The  chief  sat  beside  the  master  of  the  house  at 
the  long  table,  although  at  his  own  house  his  place 
was  always  at  the  side  of  the  table  among  his  guests. 
Little  Maria  "with  her  hair  craped  high"  was  taken 
in  by  the  Marquis  Lafayette,  or  Count  d'Estaing,  or 
Count  Rochambeau,  —  they  were  all  present,  —  and 
the  little  lady's  heart  was  in  her  mouth,  she  said, 
although  she  danced  with  every  one  of  them  at  the 
ball  —  nay,  with  Betty  Lewis's  Uncle  George  himself! 

To  this  dinner  the  doctor,  of  course,  invited  Mrs. 
Washington,  but  equally,  of  course,  she  did  not  come, 
her  appearance  at  the  ball  having  been  an  extraordi 
nary  effort  intended  to  mark  her  sense  of  the  im 
portance  of  the  occasion  which  was  intoxicating  the 
whole  country  with  joy. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

LAFAYETTE    AND    OUR    FRENCH    ALLIES 

IN  1784  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette  returned  to 
Virginia  "  crowned  everywhere,"  wrote  Wash 
ington  to  the  Marchioness  de  Lafayette,  "  with 
wreaths  of  love  and  respect."  He  made  a  visit  to 
Mount  Vernon,  and  thence,  before  he  sailed  for 
France,  he  went  to  Fredericksburg  to  pay  his  hom 
age  to  the  mother  of  Washington.  A  great  crowd 
of  citizens  and  old  soldiers  thronged  the  town  to  do 
him  honor.  One  of  the  old  soldiers  from  the  coun 
try  had  heard  much  of  a  new  character  who  had  fol 
lowed  the  armies,  and  had  lately  appeared  in  Virginia 
—  active,  prevalent,  and  most  successful !  This  rustic 
determined  to  see  Lafayette,  <c  pick-pocket "  or  no 
"pick-pocket."  Had  he  not  two  hands!  One  should 
never  let  go  a  firm  grasp  on  the  watch  in  his  own 
pocket.  Finally  he  succeeded,  after  pressing  through 
the  throng,  in  reaching  the  general.  In  his  enthu 
siasm  at  being  greeted  so  warmly  by  the  great 
marquis,  he  seized  with  both  hands  Lafayette's 
friendly  grasp,  and  as  he  turned  away  clapped 
his  hand  upon  his  watch-pocket.  It  was  empty  ! 

312 


GENERAL  LAFAYETTE. 


Lafayette  and  our  French  Allies  313 

There  is  no  doubt — not  the  least  —  that  the  honest 
man  never  thought  his  honors  too  dearly  bought. 

Escaping  from  all  these  good  people  so  keenly 
and  cordially  enjoyed  by  the  warm-hearted  marquis, 
he  found  Betty  Washington's  son  to  act  as  sponsor 
and  guide  —  lest  he  should  have  been  forgotten  !  — 
to  visit  the  mother  of  his  friend.  He  wished  to 
pay  his  parting  respects  and  to  ask  her  blessing. 

"Accompanied  by  her  grandson/'  says  Mr. 
Custis,  "  he  approached  the  house  ;  when  the  young 
gentleman  observed,  c  There,  sir,  is  my  grand 
mother.'  Lafayette  beheld,  working  in  the  garden, 
clad  in  domestic-made  clothes,  and  her  gray  head 
covered  in  a  plain  straw  hat,  the  mother  of  his  hero ! 
The  lady  saluted  him  kindly,  observing,  '  Ah,  Mar 
quis  !  you  see  an  old  woman  ;  but  come,  I  can  make 
you  welcome  to  my  poor  dwelling,  without  the 
parade  of  changing  my  dress.' 

"The  Marquis  spoke  of  the  happy  effects  of  the 
Revolution,  and  the  goodly  prospect  which  opened 
upon  independent  America ;  stated  his  speedy  de 
parture  for  his  native  land ;  paid  the  tribute  of  his 
heart,  his  love  and  admiration  of  her  illustrious  son. 
To  the  encomiums  which  he  had  lavished  upon  his 
hero  and  paternal  chief,  the  matron  replied  in  her 
accustomed  words,  c  I  am  not  surprised  at  what 
George  has  done,  for  he  was  always  a  very  good  boy.' 

"In  her  latter  days,  the  mother  often  spoke  of 
c  her  own  good  boy,'  of  the  merits  of  his  early  life, 


314     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

of  his  love  and  dutifulness  to  herself;  but  of  the 
deliverer  of  his  country,  the  chief  magistrate  of 
the  great  republic,  she  never  spoke.  Call  you  this 
insensibility  ?  or  want  of  ambition  ?  Oh,  no  !  her 
ambition  had  been  gratified  to  overflowing.  She 
had  taught  him  to  be  good  ;  that  he  became  great 
when  the  opportunity  presented,  was  a  consequence, 
not  a  cause." 

Would  that  we  could  record  naught  but  reward  — 
long  life,  honor,  and  happiness  —  to  every  one  of 
our  brave  allies  who  came  to  us  in  our  extremity. 
But,  alas  !  Fortune  held  in  her  closed  hand  these 
gifts  for  some  —  for  others  disgrace,  the  dungeon, 
the  guillotine  ! 

Louis  XVI  was  overjoyed  at  the  eclat  won 
by  the  French  arms  in  America.  When  Rocham- 
beau  presented  himself  at  court  the  young  king  re 
ceived  him  graciously,  and  said  to  him,  "  I  have 
read  in  the  Commentaries  of  Caesar  that  a  small 
army,  commanded  by  a  great  general,  can  achieve 
wonders,  and  you  are  a  proof  of  it." 

Lafayette  threw  himself  with  ardor  into  the  stir 
ring  military  life  of  his  own  country,  and  came  back 
to  us  in  1824  to  find  his  path  strewn  with  flowers 
by  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution ;  and 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  but  a  few 
months  ago  crowned  his  statue  with  the  same 
laurels  with  which  they  crowned  the  adored 
Washington  ! 


Lafayette  and  our  French  Allies  315 

Great  riches  and  honor  were  heaped  upon  the 
Comte  de  Vergennes.  He  was  given  a  position 
which  brought  him  an  income  of  60,000  francs. 
Afterwards  the  Empress  of  Russia  —  as  reward  — 
made  him  Knight  of  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
with  100,000  francs!  A  serene,  very  honorable 
and  comfortable  old  age  was  Fortune's  gift  to  our 
friend  Vergennes. 

And  Beaumarchais,  who  poured  money  into  our 
empty  treasury  from  his  own  full  horn-of-plenty, — 
Beaumarchais,  the  artist,  dramatist,  politician,  mer 
chant,  who  set  all  Paris  wild  with  his  "  Manage  de 
Figaro,"  of  whose  wit  and  satire  and  mischievous 
subtlety  our  translations  give  us  no  idea,  —  Beau 
marchais  must  needs  ruin  himself  by  spending 
1,000,000  livres  on  a  gorgeous  edition  de  luxe  of  Vol 
taire,  and  yet  more  than  that  on  French  muskets. 
He  died  of  "no  particular  disease,"  say  his  biogra 
phers,  "  at  sixty-nine  years."  So  Fortune  for  him 
had  a  long  life  and  a  merry  one,  and  riches  of  which 
he  made  a  noble  use. 

We  all  know  the  fate  of  the  pleasure-loving  young 
king,  —  the  husband  of  the  beautiful  and  accom 
plished  Marie  Antoinette  !  America,  perhaps,  owes 
little  to  him,  —  but  she  remembers  that  little,  and 
can  mourn  for  the  bitter  hour  that  ended  his  mis 
guided  life. 

But  ungrateful,  indeed,  would  she  be  did  she  cease 
to  remember  Marie  Antoinette  !  Well  may  we  call 


316     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

our  beautiful  buildings  and  graceful  fashions  after 
her  name.  Many  years  after  she  had  bent  her 
lovely  head  with  such  courage  to  the  guillotine, 
Paine  wrote,  "  It  is  both  justice  and  gratitude  to  say 
that  it  was  the  queen  of  France  who  gave  the  cause 
of  America  a  fashion  at  the  French  Court."  "  Dites- 
moi"  she  had  said  in  parting  from  Lafayette,  " dites- 
moi  de  bonnes  nouvelles  de  nos  bons  Americans^  de  nos 
cher  Republicans"  little  dreaming,  poor  lady,  that 
"  she  was  giving  the  last  great  impulse  to  that  revo 
lutionary  spirit  which  was  so  soon  to  lead  her  to 
misery  and  death." 

For  one  more  of  the  Frenchmen  who  served  us  — 
one  who  was  a  loyal  friend  in  the  field  and  a  traitor 
at  the  fireside  —  the  stern  Nemesis  holds  a  strange 
immortality.  The  secret  manuscript  which  for  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  years  has  passed  from  hand 
to  hand  among  Virginia  women  ;  which  was  known 
to  and  partially  quoted  by  Bishop  Meade ;  which  is 
known  to-day  by  many  who  gave,  like  him,  a  prom 
ise  never  to  print  the  whole  of  it,  contains  the  story 
of  a  young  nobleman's  infamy  —  told  that  he  may 
be  execrated  by  women,  the  names  implicated  kept 
from  publication  that  the  innocent  descendants  may 
not  suffer.  "  Sed  quid  ego  htec  nequicquam  ingrata  re- 
vofoo  ?  It  is  vain  to  lament  that  corruption  which 
no  human  power  can  prevent  or  repair." 


CHAPTER    IX 

IN    CAMP    AND    AT    MOUNT    VERNON 

PEACE  was  not  declared  until  March  3,  1783. 
In  the  meanwhile  the  armies  must  be  kept  in 
camp,  regularly  drilled,  and  ready  at  a  mo 
ment's  notice  for  action.  The  American  army  was 
encamped  at  Verplanck's  Point ;  that  of  Count  de 
Rochambeau  —  alas,  for  the  honor  and  peace  of  one 
household  !  —  at  Williamsburg.  The  brilliant  cam 
paign  in  Virginia  attracted  immense  interest  abroad. 
Every  ship  brought  strangers  to  visit  the  camp,  — 
artists,  writers,  military  men.  Washington  begins  to 
be  sensitive  about  our  meagre  facilities  for  entertain 
ing  these  visitors.  "We  have  nothing  to  offer,"  he 
deplores,  "except  whisky  hot  from  the  still,  —  and 
not  always  that,  —  and  meat  with  no  vegetables," 
etc.  There  was  always  plenty  of  Virginia  hickory 
nuts  !  They  appeared  at  every  meal.  They  saved 
many  a  day  and  redeemed  many  a  slender  breakfast, 
dinner,  and  supper.  The  commander-in-chief  seems 
to  have  striven  to  make  them  fashionable  by  devot 
ing  himself  to  their  consumption. 

M.  de  Broglie  came  to  Virginia  in  1782,  bearing 
letters  of  introduction  to  General  Washington  from 

317 


318     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Benjamin  Franklin, —  letters  "rendered  doubly  agree 
able/'  said  the  general,  "  by  the  pleasure  I  had  in 
receiving  them  from  the  hands  of  such  an  amiable 
and  accomplished  young  gentleman."  M.  de  Broglie 
kept  a  journal  which  found  its  way  to  the  columns 
of  the  Courier  des  Etats  Unis,  and  was  translated  by 
a  Boston  literary  journal.  The  impression  made 
upon  this  "amiable  and  accomplished  young  gentle 
man  "  presents  an  interesting  portrait  of  Washington 
in  the  year  succeeding  the  surrender,  and  also  per 
mits  our  curtain  to  fall  upon  a  charming  picture  of 
the  ancestors  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution. 

M.  de  Broglie  says :  "  I  found  the  American 
Army  encamped  in  a  place  called  Verplanck's  Point. 
There  were  six  thousand  men  who,  for  the  first 
time  during  the  war,  were  well  armed,  well  drilled, 
well  kept,  and  camped  under  tents  of  a  regular 
form.  I  passed  along  its  front  with  pleasure, 
astonishment  and  admiration.  All  the  soldiers  ap 
peared  to  me  fine,  robust  and  well  chosen.  The 
sentinels  well  kept,  extremely  attentive,  and  suf 
ficiently  well  placed  under  arms,  contrasted  so  com 
pletely  with  the  crude  idea  I  had  formed  of  these 
troops,  that  I  was  obliged  to  repeat  to  myself  sev 
eral  times  that  I  was  indeed  seeing  this  army  that 
formerly  had  no  other  uniform  than  a  cap  upon 
which  was  written  c  Liberty.' 

"  I  pressed  M.  de  Rochambeau,  who  received  me 


In  Camp  and  at  Mount  Vernon  319 

with  kindness,  to  add  that  of  making  me  acquainted 
with  Washington.  He  assented ;  and  the  day  after 
my  arrival,  he  went  with  me  to  dine  with  this  famous 
man.  I  gave  him  a  letter  from  my  father;  and, 
after  a  slight  c  shake  hand]  he  was  kind  enough  to 
say  a  thousand  flatteries  and  polite  things  to  me. 
Here  is  his  portrait,  which  I  have  formed  from  what 
I  have  been  able  to  see  of  him  for  myself,  and  from 
what  the  conversations  which  I  have  had  with  re 
gard  to  him,  have  taught  me :  — 

"  The  General  is  about  forty-nine  years  of  age  ; 
he  is  large,  finely  made,  very  well  proportioned. 
His  figure  is  much  more  pleasing  than  the  picture 
represents  it.  He  was  fine  looking  until  within 
about  three  years  ;  and,  although  those  who  have 
been  constantly  with  him  since  that  time  say  that 
he  seems  to  them  to  have  grown  old  fast,  it  is  un 
deniable  that  the  General  is  still  fresh,  and  active 
as  a  young  man. 

"  His  physiognomy  is  pleasant  and  open ;  his 
address  is  cold,  though  polite ;  his  pensive  eye  is 
more  attentive  than  sparkling ;  but  his  countenance 
is  kind,  noble  and  composed.  He  maintains,  in 
his  private  deportment,  that  polite  and  attentive 
manner  which  does  not  offend.  He  is  the  enemy 
of  ostentation  and  vain-glory.  His  manners  are 
always  equable  ;  he  has  never  shown  the  least  tem 
per.  Modest  even  to  humility,  he  seems  not  to 
estimate  himself  duly ;  he  receives  with  good  grace 


J20    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

the  deference  paid  to  him,  but  rather  shuns  than 
courts  it.  His  society  is  agreeable  and  pleas 
ing.  Always  serious,  never  constrained ;  always 
simple,  always  free  and  affable,  without  being 
familiar,  the  respect  which  he  inspires  never  becomes 
painful.  He  talks  little  in  general,  and  in  a  very 
low  tone  of  voice ;  but  he  is  so  attentive  to  what 
is  said  to  him,  that  you  are  satisfied  that  he  un 
derstands  you,  and  are  almost  willing  to  dispense 
with  a  reply.  This  conduct  has  often  been  of  ad 
vantage  to  him  in  various  circumstances  ;  no  one 
has  more  occasion  than  he  to  use  circumspection, 
and  to  weigh  well  his  words.  He  unites  to  an 
unalterable  tranquillity  of  soul,  a  fine  power  of  judg 
ment  ;  and  one  can  seldom  reproach  him  for  a  little 
slowness  in  determination,  or  even  in  acting,  when 
he  has  formed  his  decision.  His  courage  is  calm 
and  brilliant.  An  excellent  patriot,  a  wise,  virtu 
ous  man  —  one  is  tempted  to  grant  him  all  qualities, 
even  those  which  circumstances  have  not  permitted 
him  to  develop.  Never  was  there  a  man  more 
fitted  to  lead  the  Americans  nor  one  who  has 
evinced  in  his  conduct  more  consistency,  wisdom, 
constancy  and  reason. 

"  Mr.  Washington  has  never  received  any  com 
pensation  as  General ;  he  has  refused  such,  as  not 
needing  it.  The  expenses  of  his  table  are  alone 
made  at  the  expense  of  the  State.  He  has  every 
day  as  many  as  thirty  people  at  dinner,  gives  good 


In  Camp  and  at  Mount  Vernon  321 

military  receptions,  and  is  very  attentive  to  all  the 
officers  whom  he  admits  to  his  table.  It  is,  in 
general,  the  moment  of  the  day  when  he  is  most 

gay- 

"  At  dessert,  he  makes  an  enormous  consumption 
of  nuts,  and,  when  the  conversation  amuses  him,  he 
eats  them  for  two  hours,  c  drinking  healths,'  accord 
ing  to  the  English  and  American  custom,  several 
times.  This  is  called  toasting.  They  begin  always 
by  drinking  to  the  United  States  of  America ;  after 
wards  to  the  King  of  France,  to  the  Queen,  and 
success  to  the  arms  of  the  combined  army.  Then 
is  given,  sometimes,  what  is  called  a  sentiment ;  for 
example,  £To  our  success  with  our  enemies  and  the 
ladies  ! '  c  Success  in  war  and  love  ! ' 

"  I  have  toasted  several  times  with  General  Wash 
ington.  On  one  occasion  I  proposed  to  him  to 
drink  to  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  whom  he  looked 
upon  as  a  son.  He  accepted  with  a  smile  of  benevo 
lence,  and  had  the  politeness  to  propose  to  me  in 
return  that  of  my  father  and  wife. 

"  Mr.  Washington  appears  to  me  to  keep  up  a 
perfect  bearing  towards  the  officers  of  his  army ;  he 
treats  them  very  politely,  but  they  are  far  from 
growing  familiar  with  him  ;  they  all  wear,  on  the 
contrary,  in  presence  of  this  General,  an  air  of  re 
spect,  confidence  and  admiration." 

For  two  years  after  the  surrender,  General  Wash 
ington  was  confined  to  the  routine  of  camp  life. 


322    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

We  read  of  no  visits  to  Fredericksburg  or  to 
Mount  Vernon.  If  he  made  them,  they  were  brief 
and  uneventful. 

His  mother  lived  quietly  in  her  new  home,  never 
fulfilling  her  intention  of  returning  to  "  Pine  Grove  " 
across  the  river.  She  was  now  seventy-eight  years 
old,  but  remembered  by  the  children  of  her  old  neigh 
bors  as  bright,  active,  and  alert  —  keenly  interested 
in  everything  around  her.  Charming  granddaugh 
ters  were  growing  up  in  Betty  Lewis's  "  Kenmore  " 
home.  One  of  these  —  doubtless  our  "  little  Betty," 
-accompanied  General  and  Mrs.  Washington  on 
their  joyful  return  home  to  Mount  Vernon  from 
Annapolis,  whither  the  general  had  gone  to  resign 
his  commission.  Mr.  Lossing  has  preserved  a  letter 
from  little  Miss  Lewis  :  — 

"  I  must  tell  you  what  a  charming  day  I  spent  at 
Mt.  Vernon  with  Mama  and  Sally.  The  Gen 
eral  and  Madame  came  home  at  Christmas  Eve,  and 
such  a  racket  the  servants  made  !  They  were  glad 
of  their  coming.  Three  handsome  young  officers 
came  with  them.  All  Christmas  afternoon  people 
came  to  pay  their  respects  and  duty.  Among  these 
were  stately  dames  and  gay  young  women.  The 
General  seemed  very  happy  and  Mrs.  Washington 
was  up  before  daybreak  making  everything  as  agree 
able  as  possible  for  everybody.  Among  the  most 
notable  callers  was  Mr.  George  Mason  of  Gunston 
Hall,  who  brought  a  charming  granddaughter  with 


In  Camp  and  at  Mount  Vernon  323 

him  about  fourteen  years  old.  He  is  said  to  be  one 
of  the  greatest  statesmen  and  wisest  men  in  Vir 
ginia.  We  had  heard  much  of  him,  and  were  de 
lighted  to  look  in  his  face,  hear  him  speak,  and  take 
his  hand  which  he  offered  in  a  courtly  manner.  He 
has  a  grand  head  and  clear  gray  eyes  —  is  straight, 
but  not  tall,  and  has  few  white  hairs,  though  they 
say  he  is  about  sixty  years  old." 

The  little  hero-worshipper  !  And  so  reverent  to 
her  illustrious  uncle  and  his  wife,  with  no  underbred, 
familiar  claiming  of  kinship  with  "  the  General  and 
Madame." 

Even  before  peace  was  declared,  our  French  allies 
circulated  large  sums  of  gold  and  silver  coin,  which 
put  to  flight  the  wretched  paper  currency  of  our 
country,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  quantities 
of  French  and  English  goods  were  imported.  "Our 
people,"  laments  an  old  writer,  "  suddenly  laid  aside 
their  plain,  home-manufactured  clothing.  Fine 
ruffles,  powdered  heads,  silks  and  scarlets  decorated 
the  men,  while  the  most  costly  silks,  satins,  chintzes, 
calicoes  and  muslins  decorated  our  females.  Superb 
plate,  foreign  spirits,  and  wines,  sparkled  on  the 
sideboards,  and  as  a  necessary  consequence  the  peo 
ple  ran  in  debt,  and  money  was  hard  to  raise." 

General  Washington's  family  resumed  their  old- 
time  habits  of  living.  They  rose  early,  breakfasted 
at  half-past  seven,  dined  frugally  at  two,  retired 
early.  "  Those  who  come  to  see  me,"  said  the 


324    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

general,  "  will  always  find  a  bit  of  mutton  and  a  glass 
of  wine.  If  they  expect  anything  more,  they  will  be 
disappointed."  Mary  Washington  and  the  mistress 
of  Mount  Vernon  never  laid  aside  their  simple 
customs,  dress,  and  occupations.  They  seemed  to 
have  formed,  said  Washington  Irving,  "an  inveterate 
habit  of  knitting  "  in  and  out  of  the  drawing-room. 
Walking  about  her  garden,  Mary  Washington's 
fingers  held  the  flying  needles.  The  results  were 
sent  to  somebody  less  fortunate  than  herself. 
Martha  Washington  kept  up  her  "inveterate  habit" 
long  after  she  became  the  first  lady  in  the  land,  pre 
senting  unfinished  gloves  of  her  own  knitting  to  her 
friends  to  "  finish  and  wear  for  my  sake,"  thus 
delicately  suggesting  a  plan  by  which  the  gift  could 
be  rendered  more  valuable,  and  at  the  same  time 
inspiring  her  gay  young  visitors  with  something  of 
her  own  spirit  of  industry. 

Inestimable  to  women  is  the  value  of  such  occu 
pation  !  For  them  the  curse  has  been  transmuted 
into  a  golden  blessing.  There  could  have  been  no 
necessity  for  Mary  and  Martha  Washington  to  em 
ploy  themselves  so  diligently  in  sewing  and  knitting. 
The  hands  were  numerous  enough  around  them 
among  the  negroes  and  humbler  classes  for  all  such 
work.  But  they  held  an  old-fashioned  creed  :  that 
the  human  hand  —  that  wonderful  mechanism  —  was 
created  for  some  useful  purpose  !  In  their  day  the 
hand  had  not  claimed  for  its  beauty  the  cunning 


In  Camp  and  at  Mount  Vernon  325 

skill  of  the  "  artist  manicure."  The  instructed 
hand  made  laces,  and  manipulated  the  spinet  and 
harp,  but  it  made  garments  as  well.  Let  none  call 
the  love  of  needlework  useless — its  results  not 
worth  the  while  !  Knitting  may  not  be  the  highest 
use  for  one's  beautiful  hands,  but  it  surely  ranks 
with  the  highest  when  it  ministers  to  those  who 
suffer  !  And  even  as  an  innocent  occupation  it  is 
not  to  be  despised.  All  such  work  is  better  than 
dull  vacuity  or  lack  of  interest  in  domestic  life.  A 
passion  for  such  things  is  not  the  worst  passion 
that  can  possess  a  woman's  soul.  Besides,  needle 
work  is  an  admirable  sedative  to  the  nerves.  Mary 
Washington's  knitting  helped  to  relieve  her  mind  of 
its  tension  when  circumstances  seemed  so  unfortu 
nate  and  discouraging.  Perhaps  the  Queen  of  Scots 
sometimes  forgot  the  uncertain  tenure  by  which  she 
held  her  beautiful  head  because  she  had  a  passion 
for  embroidery  and  was,  every  day,  expecting  new 
flosses  and  filoselles  from  France  to  finish  some 
thing  very  lovely  which  she  had  commenced. 

But  knitting  was  not  with  Mary  Washington  and 
her  daughters  a  matter  of  sentiment  or  resorted  to 
as  a  nerve  cure.  It  was  simply  the  natural  expres 
sion  of  pure  benevolence.  There  was  no  money 
to  buy  —  nothing  imported  to  be  bought.  The 
destitution  of  the  soldiers  pressed  heavily  upon  the 
hearts  of  these  good  women.  Constantly  employed 
every  moment  of  their  waking  hours,  they  might 


326     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

hope  to  achieve  something  to  add  to  that  "  cap  upon 
which  was  written  c  Liberty.'  '  The  Phrygian  cap 
might  indeed  protect  the  fervid  brain  of  the  patriot, 
but  could  in  no  wise  comfort  his  weary  feet ! 

American  women  have  never  failed  in  time  of 
war  to  give  the  work  of  their  own  hands.  With 
the  wife  of  another  Virginia  commander,  Mary 
Custis  Lee,  knitting  was  as  inveterate  a  habit  in 
the  time  of  America's  Civil  War  as  it  was  with  her 
great-grandmother,  Martha  Washington,  in  the  war 
of  the  American  Revolution. 

Many  were  the  soldiers  who  were  comforted  in 
body  and  heartened  in  spirit  by  the  gifts  of  these 
noble  women  —  all  the  more  because  they  were 
wrought  by  their  own  gentle  hands. 


CHAPTER  X 

MRS.  ADAMS  AT  THE  COURT  OF  ST.  JAMES 

MARY  WASHINGTON  lived  long  enough 
to  witness  the  crowning  triumph  of  the 
colonies,  when  the  proud  country  that 
had  sought  their  subjugation  was  compelled  to 
receive  at  its  Court  their  accredited  Minister.  In 
1785  John  Adams  of  Massachusetts  was  chosen  for 
this  delicate  position.  He  had  nominated  Washing 
ton  for  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Colonial  troops, 
he  had  belonged  to  the  committee  which  reported 
the  immortal  Declaration  of  Independence,  he  had 
been  sent  in  1777  as  commissioner  to  the  Court  of 
Versailles.  Moreover,  he  was  the  husband  of  the 
accomplished,  patriotic  Abigail  Adams,  —  "  a  woman 
of  fine  personal  appearance,  good  education  and  noble 
powers  of  mind."  A  fitting  pair  this  to  represent 
the  new  land  that  had  just  won  a  place  among  the 
nations  ! 

In  the  drawing-rooms  of  the  late  queen  —  the 
arbiter  of  social  usage  for  nearly  a  century  —  Maj 
esty  stood  upon  a  raised  platform  surrounded  by 
the  lights,  larger  or  lesser,  of  her  court.  A  few 
ladies  only  were  admitted  at  a  time.  These  might 

327 


328     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

not  clasp  the  outstretched  hand  of  Majesty.  On 
the  back  of  their  hands  her  own  was  laid  for  an 
instant,  and  something  like  a  butterfly  touch  of  the 
lips  was  permitted.  Then  to  the  long  line  of  lesser 

stars  were  cour 
tesies  rendered, 
and  the  "  pre- 
sented"  lady 
passed  on  and 
out. 

Not  so  did 
George  the 
Third  and  his 
queen  receive. 
Their  guests 
were  assembled 
in  the  drawing- 
room,  and  the 
king,  accompa 
nied  by  Lord 
Onslow,  passed 
around  first: 

John  Adams. 

the     queen,    as 

much  as  two  hours  later,  made  her  rounds  in  a 
similar  fashion. 

Mrs.  Adams  wrote  to  her  sister  a  description 
of  the  first  drawing-room  attended  by  the  first 
American  Minister  to  the  Court  of  St.  James. 
The  company  assembled  in  silence.  The  king 


Mrs.  Adams  at  the  Court  of  St.  James      329 

went  around  to  every  person  —  rinding  small  talk 
enough  to  speak  to  them  all  —  u  prudently  speaking 
in  a  whisper  so  that  only  the  person  next  you  can 
hear  what  is  said."  King  George,  Mrs.  Adams 
thought,  was  "  a  personable  man,"  but  she  did  not 
admire  his  red  face  and  white  eyebrows.  When  he 
came  to  her,  and  Lord  Onslow  said,  "  Mrs.  Adams," 
she  hastily  drew  off  her  right-hand  glove  ;  but  to 
her  amazement  the  king  stooped  and  kissed  her 
on  her  left  cheek !  There  was  an  embarrassed 
moment  —  for  Royalty  must  always  begin  and  end 
a  conversation.  George  the  Third  found  only  this 
to  say  :  — 

"  Madam,  have  you  taken  a  walk  to-day  ? " 

"  No,  Sire." 

"  Why  ?     Don't  you  love  walking?  " 

Her  impulse  was  to  tell  him  frankly  that  all  the 
morning  had  been  given  to  attiring  herself  to  wait 
upon  him,  but  she  informed  him  only  that  she 
was  "  rather  indolent  in  that  respect,"  upon  which 
he  allowed  her  the  last  word,  bowed,  and  passed  on. 
In  about  two  hours  it  was  Mrs.  Adams's  turn  to  be 
presented  to  the  queen.  "The  queen,"  she  writes, 
"  was  evidently  embarrassed.  I  had  disagreeable 
feelings,  too.  She,  however,  said :  c  Mrs.  Adams, 
have  you  got  into  your  house  ?  Pray,  how  do  you 
like  the  situation  of  it  ? '  She,  too,  yielded  the 
last  word,  passing  on  after  an  earnest  assurance 
that  the  American  lady  had  nothing  to  complain  of. 


33°    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"  She  was  in  purple  and  silver,"  said  Mrs.  Adams 
in  her  letter  to  her  sister.  "  She  is  not  well-shaped 
nor  handsome.  As  to  the  ladies  of  the  Court, 
rank  and  title  may  compensate  for  want  of  personal 
charm,  but  they  are  in  general  very  plain,  ill-shaped 
and  ugly  —  but  don't  you  tell  anybody  that  I  said  so ! " 

From  the  letter  of  our  Minister's  wife,  we  per 
ceive  that  fashions  in  dress  had  not  changed  materi 
ally  since  the  days  when  Jenny  Washington,  Betsy 
Lee,  and  Aphia  Fauntleroy  danced  in  Westmore 
land.  The  classic  David  had  not  yet .  laid  down 
his  stern  laws.  The  train  was  still  looped  over  an 
ornate  petticoat,  and  all  supported  by  an  enormous 
hoop ;  the  hair  still  "  craped  high,"  surmounted 
with  feathers,  flowers,  lace,  and  gauze.  Mrs. 
Adams,  when  all  ready  to  set  forth  to  the  drawing- 
room,  found  time  while  waiting  for  her  daughter 
to  describe  the  presentation  gowns  to  her  sister  in 
Massachusetts  :  — 

"  My  head  is  dressed  for  St.  James,  and  in  my 
opinion  looks  very  tasty.  Whilst  my  daughter  is 
undergoing  the  same  operation  I  set  myself  down 
composedly  to  write  you  a  few  lines.  I  directed 
my  manteau-maker  to  let  my  dress  be  elegant,  but 
plain  as  I  could  possibly  appear  with  decency.  Ac 
cordingly  it  is  white  lutestring  covered  and  full- 
trimmed  with  white  crape  festooned  with  lilac  ribbon 
and  mock  point  lace,  over  a  hoop  of  enormous  extent. 
There  is  only  a  narrow  train  of  about  three  yards  in 


Mrs.  Adams  at  the  Court  of  St.  James      331 

length  to  the  gown  waist,  which  is  put  into  a  ribbon 
upon  the  left  side,  the  Queen  only  having  her  train 
borne.  Ruffle  cuffs  for  married  ladies,  a  very  dress 
cap  with  long  lace  lappets,  two  white  plumes  and  a 
blond-lace  handkerchief.  This  is  my  rigging.  I 
should  have  mentioned  two  pearl  pins  in  my  hair, 
earrings  and  necklace  of  the  same  kind. 

"  Well,  methinks  I  hear  Betsy  and  Lucy  say, 
c  What  is  cousin's  dress  P '  White,  my  dear  girls, 
like  your  aunt's,  only  differently  trimmed  and  orna 
mented,  her  train  being  wholly  of  white  crape  and 
trimmed  with  white  ribbon  ;  the  petticoat,  which  is 
the  most  showy  part  of  the  dress,  covered  and 
drawn  up  in  what  are  called  festoons,  with  light 
wreaths  of  beautiful  flowers  ;  the  sleeves  white  crape, 
drawn  over  the  silk  with  a  row  of  lace  around  the 
sleeve  near  the  shoulder,  another  half-way  down 
the  arm,  and  a  third  upon  the  top  of  the  ruffle, 
a  little  flower  stuck  between ;  a  kind  of  hat  cap 
with  three  large  feathers  and  a  bunch  of  flowers  ; 
a  wreath  of  flowers  upon  the  hair.  Thus  equipped 
we  go  in  our  own  carriage,  and  Mr.  Adams  and 
Colonel  Smith  in  his.  But  I  must  quit  the  pen  in 
order  for  the  ceremony  which  begins  at  2  o'clock." 

Mrs.  Adams  was  not  one  whit  "  flustered "  or 
nervous  on  this  occasion  —  unique  from  the  circum 
stances  attending  it.  The  embarrassment  was  all  on 
the  part  of  Royalty.  Very  sustaining  must  be  the 
consciousness  of  belonging  to  the  victorious  party  ! 


CHAPTER    XI 

THE    FIRST    WINTER    AT    MOUNT    VERNON 

WASHINGTON  IRVING  speaks  of  the 
first  winter  at  Mount  Vernon  as  being 
of  such  intense  cold  that  "  General  Wash 
ington  could  not  travel  through  the  snows  even  as 
far  as  Fredericksburg  to  visit  his  aged  mother." 
General  Dabney  H.  Maury,  in  his  "  Recollections 
of  a  Virginian,"  says:  "  After  Washington's  military 
career  ended  he  used  to  go  frequently  to  Fredericks- 
burg  to  visit  his  venerable  mother,  and  his  arrival 
was  the  occasion  of  great  conviviality  and  rejoicing. 
Dinner  parties  and  card  parties  were  then  in  order, 
and  we  find  in  that  wonderful  record  of  his  daily 
receipts  and  expenditures  that  on  one  of  these  occa 
sions  he  won  thirty  guineas  at  Lop-loo  !  Probably 
it  was  after  this  night  that  he  threw  the  historic  dollar 
across  the  river,  the  only  instance  of  extravagance 
ever  charged  against  him."  A  dinner-party  was 
usually  given  to  him  on  his  arrival  at  the  old 
"  Indian  Queen "  tavern.  On  these  visits  Wash 
ington  laid  aside  his  state,  and  —  near  his  boyhood's 
home  —  was  a  boy  again. 

Judge    Brooke,  for  many  years  chief  justice  of 

332 


The  First  Winter  at  Mount  Vernon        333 

Virginia,  who  had  served  as  an  officer  in  the  legion 
of"  Light-horse  Harry,"  used  to  tell  of  having  fre 
quently  met  Washington  on  his  visits  to  Freder- 
icksburg  after  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  how 
"  hilarious "  the  general  was  on  those  occasions 
with  "Jack  Willis  and  other  friends  of  his  young 
days.'*  Judge  Brooke  remembered  one  dinner 
given  to  Washington  at  the  "  Indian  Queen  "  tavern 
at  which  he  was  present.  "  A  British  officer  sang  a 
comic  song.  Washington  laughed  till  the  tears 
rolled  down  his  cheeks,  and  called  upon  the  singer 
to  repeat  it." 

"  Light-horse  Harry "  Lee  was  always  a  great 
favorite  in  the  Washington  family.  He  was,  per 
haps,  the  only  person  outside  of  it  "  never  under  the 
influence"  —  according  to  Irving  —  "of  that  rever 
ential  awe  "  which  Washington  is  said  to  have  in 
spired.  His  summer  home  "  Chatham  "  adjoined 
Mary  Washington's  Stafford  farm  ;  he  was  often  in 
Fredericksburg  at  the  "  Indian  Queen  "  banquets. 
Nobody  could  take  such  liberties  with  the  great 
man.  The  son  of  his  "  Lowland  Beauty  "  stepped 
right  into  the  place  she  had  left  vacant. 

The  general  one  day  asked  "  Light-horse  Harry  " 
if  he  knew  where  he  could  get  a  good  pair  of  car 
riage  horses. 

"  I  have  a  fine  pair,  general  —  but  you  can't  get 
them." 

"Why  not?" 


334    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"  Because,"  said  the  saucy  young  soldier,  "  you 
will  never  pay  more  than  half  price  for  anything, 
and  I  must  have  full  price  for  my  horses." 

Silence  —  broken  at  last  by  the  bantering  laugh 
of  a  pet  parrot  caged  near  them.  The  general  took 
the  assault  upon  his  dignity  in  great  good  part. 
"  Ah,  Lee,  you  are  a  funny  fellow  !  "  said  he  ;  "  even 
the  birds  laugh  at  you  !  " 

"  But,"  adds  Irving,  "  hearty  laughter  was  rare 
with  Washington.  The  sudden  explosions  we  read 
of  were  the  result  of  some  ludicrous  surprise." 

Still  we  do  read  of  this  rare  laughter  —  this  will 
ing  yielding  to  merriment  —  on  the  occasions  of  his 
visits  to  his  mother. 

All  of  which  goes  to  prove,  first,  that  Washing 
ton  did  not,  as  has  been  charged,  neglect  to  visit  her 
during  the  four  intervening  years  between  the  decla 
ration  of  peace  and  his  own  appointment  to  the 
Presidency,  and,  secondly,  that  these  were  happy 
visits,  notwithstanding  his  mother's  age  and  infirmi 
ties —  happy  for  her,  otherwise,  they  could  not 
have  been  happy  for  him. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  the  compiler  of  this  story 
of  Mary  Washington  and  her  times  to  answer  all  of 
the  witless  charges  that  thoughtless  —  we  will  not 
say  malignant  —  persons  have  made  regarding  Wash 
ington's  relations  with  his  mother ;  but  one  of  these 
stories  found  its  way  to  the  columns  of  a  newspaper, 
and  perhaps  we  may  check  its  echo,  now  going  on 


The  First  Winter  at  Mount  Vernon        335 

from  lip  to  lip,  to  the  effect  that  after  he  became 
President,  Washington  denied  to  his  mother  a  home 
in  his  temporary  residence.  He  entered  that  resi 
dence  late  in  the  spring  of  1789.  His  mother  died 
in  August  of  that  year.  She  was  ill  when  he 
parted  from  her,  and  he  was  prostrated  for  many 
weeks  with  a  malignant  carbuncle.  He  was  not 
recovered  when  she  died ;  he  could  not  go  to  her. 
It  is  not  possible  that  she  wished  to  exchange  the 
repose  of  her  own  home  and  the  ministrations  of 
her  loved  physician  and  only  daughter  for  the  stir 
ring  life  of  a  noisy  metropolis. 

And  as  for  her  noble  son  —  if  the  splendor  of  his 
record  be  more  than  the  eyes  of  his  critics  can  bear, 
they  are  at  liberty  to  veil  it  for  their  own  comfort 
by  the  mists  of  their  own  imaginings.  They  will 
never  persuade  the  world  that  the  purest  and  best 
man  this  country  ever  saw  could  be  capable  of 
neglecting  an  aged  and  infirm  woman  —  and  that 
woman  the  mother  who  bore  him,  and  to  whom 
he  owed  all  that  made  him  greater  than  his 
fellows. 

I  should  doubt  the  authenticity  of  any  letter, 
tending  to  lower  our  estimation  of  Washington's 
character.  William  Smyth  of  Cambridge  Univer 
sity,  England,  in  his  "  Lectures  on  History  "  (Lec 
ture  34,  p.  436),  warns  us  that  one  volume  of 
"  Washington's  Letters "  is  spurious  and  not  to 
be  respected.  I  have  not  seen  this  assertion  of 


336     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Smyth's  repeated,  but  he  could  not  have  made 
it  without  authority. 

As  to  the  neglect  of  his  mother  during  the  last 
five  years  of  his  life  —  a  charge  that  has  been  made 
more  than  once  —  there  can  be  no  foundation  what 
ever.  He  never  realized  his  dream  of  rest  and 
leisure.  The  one  ice-bound  winter  succeeding  the 
declaration  of  peace  was  his  only  moment  of  re 
pose.  He  found  his  own  affairs  much  involved  — 
so  much  so  that  Congress  wished  to  aid  him  in 
restoring  them.  But  he  refused  to  accept  any  gift 
or  any  compensation  for  his  eight  years  of  service. 
He  complained  of  the  enormous  burden  of  the 
letters  he  must  answer.  He  found  small  time  for 
the  arboricultural  pursuits  in  which  he  was  so  much 
interested.  Hardly  had  he  planted  his  balsams, 
ivies,  and  ornamental  trees  of  various  kinds,  when 
trouble  in  the  country  claimed  his  attention.  He 
writes  of  his  longing  for  privacy  and  leisure,  and 
remembers  that  his  time  to  enjoy  them  must  be 
short.  Still  he  plants  "  elms",  ash,  white-thorn, 
maples,  mulberries,  horse-chestnuts,  willows  and 
lilacs,"  and  writes  that  his  trees  grow  fast,  as  if 
they  knew  him  to  be  getting  old  and  must  make 
haste  if  they  wish  ever  to  shelter  him  ! 

All  this  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the  very  seri 
ous  discords  in  the  country  as  to  the  Constitution 
adopted  by  the  Confederation  of  States.  The  story 
of  these  discords  is  a  long  one,  and  has  been  ably 


The  First  Winter  at  Mount  Vernon        337 

told  elsewhere.  Washington's  feelings  were  in 
tensely  excited  by  the  news  that  the  insurgents  of 
Massachusetts  had  exhibited  such  violence  that  the 
chief  magistrate  had  called  out  the  militia  of  the 
state  to  support  the  Constitution.  "  Good  God  !  " 
he  exclaims,  "  who  besides  a  Tory  or  a  Briton  could 
have  predicted  this  ?  It  was  but  the  other  day  we 
were  shedding  our  blood  to  obtain  the  constitutions 
under  which  we  now  live,  —  constitutions  of  our  own 
choice  and  making,  —  and  now  we  are  unsheathing 
the  sword  to  overturn  them.  If  any  man  had  told 
me  this  three  years  since,  I  should  have  thought  him 
a  bedlamite,  a  fit  subject  for  a  mad  house  !  " 

The  troubles  ended  in  a  call  for  another  con 
vention  of  which  he  was,  reluctantly,  compelled  to 
accept  the  place  of  delegate.  To  serve  intelligently 
he  went  into  a  course  of  study  of  the  history  of 
ancient  and  modern  confederacies,  and  has  left 
among  his  papers  an  abstract  of  their  merits  and 
defects.  He  must  now  learn  a  new  trade !  He 
must  become  a  wise  and  learned  statesman. 

One  can  easily  see  the  impossibility  of  long  and 
frequent  visits  to  his  mother  at  Fredericksburg. 
The  man  was  bound,  hand  and  foot.  He  longed 
for  repose,  and  at  first  rebelled  against  further 
public  duty.  "  Having  had  some  part  in  bringing 
the  ship  into  port,"  he  said,  "  and  having  been 
fairly  discharged,  it  is  not  my  business  to  embark 
again  upon  a  sea  of  troubles." 


33  8    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

The  country  ordered  otherwise.  There  was  a 
quarrel  in  the  family,  and  a  serious  one,  and  the 
"  Father  of  his  Country "  must  help  to  settle  it. 

Virginia  had  done  what  she  could.  She  was  rich 
and  powerful,  and  the  weaker  states  reckoned  them 
selves  at  a  disadvantage  beside  her.  Virginia  was 
the  foremost  advocate  for  equality  and  union,  and 
was  willing  to  make  sacrifices  to  secure  it. 

She  nobly  surrendered  to  the  Federal  govern 
ment  a  great  principality.  All  the  country  beyond 
the  Ohio,  now  forming  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana, 
and  Illinois,  belonged  to  Virginia.  Says  Esten 
Cooke :  "Her  right  to  it  rested  upon  as  firm  a 
basis  as  the  right  of  any  other  Commonwealth  to  its 
own  domain,  and  if  there  was  any  question  of  the 
Virginia  title  by  charter,  she  could  assert  her  right 
by  conquest.  The  region  had  been  wrested  from 
the  British  by  a  Virginian  commanding  Virginia 
troops ;  the  people  had  taken  '  The  oath  of  alle 
giance  to  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,'  and  her 
title  to  the  entire  territory  was  indisputable. 

"  These  rights  she  now  relinquished,  and  her 
action  was  the  result  of  an  enlarged  patriotism  and 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  Union." 

Thus  she  aided  in  the  settlement  of  the  ques 
tions  before  the  great  Convention  of  1788,  of  which 
Washington  was  made  President.  All  the  great 
men  of  the  country  were  present  at  this  convention, 
and  the  result  was  that  the  Constitution  of  the 


The  First  Winter  at  Mount  Vernon        339 

United  States  went  into  operation,  and  Washington 
was  elected  President  by  a  unanimous  vote. 

In  the  face  of  these  vital  matters  no  one  —  cer 
tainly  not  his  brave,  good,  reasonable  mother  — 
could  blame  him  that  the  hours  of  the  days  were 
all  too  short  for  the  great  work  he  had  to  do. 


CHAPTER    XII 

THE    PRESIDENT    AND    HIS    LAST  VISIT   TO   HIS    MOTHER 

ONCE  more,  and  once  only,  do  we  hear  of 
Mary  Washington  in  connection  with  her 
son.  We  read  that  her  home  filled  her 
time  and  heart ;  that  she,  like  her  son,  sowed  and 
planted,  arranging  her  garden  as  the  seasons  succeeded 
each  other,  delighting  in  her  personal  work  therein. 
Who  can  measure  the  charm,  to  a  woman,  of  even  a 
small  garden  !  How  often  has  she  not  "  heard  the 
voice  of  the  Lord  walking  in  the  garden  in  the  cool 
of  the  day!"  She  was  born  in  a  garden.  Her  first 
perception  of  beauty  was  awakened  by  her  flowers. 
With  these  for  companionship,  who  can  be  utterly 
wretched  ?  Not  all  unhappy  was  the  prisoner,  after 
his  "  Picciola "  had  cleft  the  stone  masonry  of  his 
dungeon ! 

We  love  to  think  of  Mary  Washington  in  the 
old  garden  !  Nowhere  so  sweetly,  so  gently,  can  a 
wearied  body  fulfil  its  day,  until  God  wills  the  re 
lease  of  the  soul. 

On  the  I4th  of  April,  1789,  Washington  received 
at  Mount  Vernon  official  intelligence  that  he  had  been 
chosen  President  of  the  United  States.  He  at  once 

340 


The  President's  Last  Visit  to  his  Mother     341 

prepared  to  go  to  New  York  and  enter  upon  the 
duties  of  his  office,  but  before  doing  so  he  set  out 
on  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  mounted  on  his 
horse  and  attended  by  his  favorite  body-servant, 
Billy  Lee,  to  visit  his  mother  in  Fredericksburg. 
He  found  her  feeble  in  body  but  bright-minded  and 
cheerful,  and  he  informed  her  that  he  had  been 
elected  President,  and  had  come  to  bid  her  an 
affectionate  farewell  before  assuming  his  office.  "So 
soon,"  he  said,  "as  the  public  business  which  must 
necessarily  be  encountered  in  arranging  a  new  gov 
ernment  can  be  disposed  of,  I  shall  hasten  to  Vir 
ginia  "  —  but  here  she  interrupted  him  and  said  : 
"  You  will  see  me  no  more.  Age  and  disease  warn 
me  that  I  shall  not  be  long  in  this  world.  I  trust 
in  God  I  am  somewhat  prepared  for  a  better.  But 
go ;  fulfil  the  high  destinies  which  Heaven  appears 
to  assign  you ;  go,  and  may  Heaven's  and  your 
mother's  blessing  be  with  you  always."  This  was 
the  last  meeting  between  the  mother  and  the  son. 

But  that  her  heart  followed  him  through  the 
marvellous  events  of  the  next  few  weeks  none  can 
doubt.  They  helped  her  to  ignore  the  shadow 
hanging  over  her.  She  was  cheerful,  strong,  and 
uncomplaining. 

She  decided  to  make  two  visits,  —  one  to  the  family 
of  Charles  and  the  other  to  the  widow  and  orphan 
children  of  Samuel  Washington.  The  families  met 
together  to  talk  gratefully  and  affectionately  of  the 


342    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

illustrious  one  whom  the  country  was  loading  with 
honors.  He  had  left  Mount  Vernon  on  the  i6th 
of  April.  An  entry  in  his  diary  records  his  feelings. 
"  I  bade  adieu  to  Mount  Vernon  and  domestic  felicity 
and  with  a  mind  oppressed  with  more  anxious  and 
painful  sensations  than  I  can  express,  set  out  for 
New  York  with  the  best  disposition  to  render  ser 
vice  to  my  country  in  obedience  to  its  call,  but  with 
less  hope  of  answering  its  expectations." 

To  his  friend,  General  Knox,  he  wrote  :  "  Integrity 
and  firmness  are  all  I  can  promise.  These,  be  my 
voyage  long  or  short,  shall  never  forsake  me, 
although  I  may  be  deserted  by  all  men  ;  for  of  the 
consolations  which  are  to  be  derived  from  these 
under  any  circumstances,  the  world  cannot  deprive 
me/' 

This  was  the  spirit  in  which  he  met  the  extraordi 
nary  honors  which  awaited  him.  "  His  progress  to 
the  seat  of  government  was  a  continual  ovation. 
The  ringing  of  bells  and  roaring  of  cannonry  pro 
claimed  his  course  through  the  country.  The  old 
and  young,  women  and  children,  thronged  the 
highways  to  welcome  him."  Governors  met  him 
at  the  frontiers  of  their  respective  states.  Cavalry 
assembled  to  escort  him.  The  throngs  gathered  as 
he  advanced  until  a  mighty  host  followed  him. 
Arches  of  flowers  and  evergreens,  and  triumphal 
arches  of  laurel,  spanned  the  paths  he  travelled. 
When  he  reached  the  banks  of  the  Delaware  he 


The  President's  Last  Visit  to  his  Mother     343 

must  have  recalled  that  midnight  passage  over  the 
ice-bound  river  at  Christmas,  —  a  representation  of 
which  hangs  in  almost  every  humble  hostelry  in 
the  country.  How  different  his  feelings  then  and 
Over  the  stream  which  flows  through 


now 


Trenton  a  bridge  was  decked  with  laurel,  with  the 


Washington's  Reception  at  Trenton. 

inscription,  "  The  Defenders  of  the  Mothers  will  be 
the  Protectors  of  the  Daughters."  The  matrons 
were  there ;  and  the  young  girls,  crowned  with  gar 
lands,  strewed  his  way  with  flowers,  singing  of  their 
love  and  gratitude.  No  king  on  his  way  to  corona 
tion  ever  received  such  a  heartfelt  ovation  ! 

And  so  —  on  and  on  —  until  at  Elizabeth  Point 


344    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

he  entered  the  barge  with  white  satin  canopy,  which 
was  to  bring  him  to  New  York.  Parties  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen  followed  the  barge  singing  paeans  of 
welcome.  In  his  diary  that  night  he  records,  "The 
display  of  boats,  the  songs,  the  instrumental  music, 
the  decorations  of  the  ships,  the  roar  of  cannon,  the 
loud  acclamations  filled  my  mind  with  sensations  as 
painful  (considering  the  reverse  of  this  scene  which 
may  be  the  case  after  all  my  labors  to  do  good)  as 
they  are  pleasing." 

For,  after  all,  he  was  a  sad  man.  He  had  sur 
rendered  his  soldier's  dream  of  home  and  peace. 
He  had  parted  with  his  aged  mother,  and  knew 
that  he  could  not  minister  to  her  in  her  last  few 
months  of  life.  He  was  too  great  a  man  to  permit 
such  things  as  these  —  applause,  laurel,  songs,  salvos 
of  artillery  —  to  fill  his  heart  or  even  his  imagina 
tion  with  pleasure. 

She  heard  it  all !  Doubtless  her  mental  com 
mentary  was  her  old  refrain  :  "  This  is  too  much 
praise  !  George  has  only  done  his  duty.'* 

The  world  still  shares  —  still  marvels  at  —  the 
worship  of  Washington  then  and  now.  As  Lecky 
says,  "  He  entered  the  scene  as  only  a  conspicuous 
member  of  the  planter  aristocracy,  his  mind  not 
quick  or  original,  no  brilliancy  of  wit,  entirely 
without  the  gift  of  eloquence,  with  few  accomplish 
ments,  no  language  except  his  own,  nothing  to 
dazzle  or  overpower."  Moreover,  he  had  not  a 


The  President's  Last  Visit  to  his  Mother     345 

university  training  at  home  or  abroad,  and  no 
foreign  travel  to  enlarge  his  vision.  His  was  the 
splendid  triumph  of  character  —  character  inherited 
and  fostered  in  the  formative  years  of  his  life  by  a 
faithful  mother.  No  one  can  read  the  just  eulogy 
of  the  accomplished  nineteenth-century  English 
writer,  without  perceiving  the  close  resemblance  — 
in  temperament  and  character  —  between  the  two. 

"  Those  who  knew  him  noticed  that  he  had  keen 
sensibilities  and  strong  passions ;  but  his  power  of 
self-command  never  failed  him,  and  no  act  of  his 
life  can  be  traced  to  personal  caprice,  ambition  or 
resentment.  In  the  despondency  of  long-continued 
failure,  in  the  elation  of  sudden  success,  at  times 
when  the  soldiers  were  deserting  by  hundreds  and 
malignant  plots  were  formed  against  his  reputation, 
amid  the  constant  quarrels,  rivalries  and  jealousies 
of  his  subordinates,  in  the  dark  hour  of  national 
ingratitude  and  in  the  midst  of  the  most  intoxicat 
ing  flattery,  he  was  always  the  same  calm,  wise,  just 
and  single-minded  man,  pursuing  the  cause  which  he 
believed  to  be  right  without  fear  or  favour  or  fanati 
cism." 

In  short,  he  triumphed  over  all  through  the 
strength  of  a  character,  firm  as  a  rock,  which  no 
storm  could  shake  or  dislodge.  The  English  writer 
himself  marvels  at  the  unchallenged  worship  of  the 
world,  and  he  thus  explains  it.  "  He  was  in  the 
highest  sense  a  gentleman  and  a  man  of  honour. 


346     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

It  was  always  known  by  his  friends,  and  it  was 
soon  acknowledged  by  the  nation  and  by  the 
English  themselves,  that  in  Washington,  America 
had  found  a  leader  who  could  be  induced  by  no 
earthly  motive  to  tell  a  falsehood  or  to  break  an 
engagement  or  to  commit  a  dishonourable  act." 

Whatever  may  be  the  deep,  underlying  cause  of 
the  idolatry  of  the  American  people,  it  certainly 
inspires  all  classes  of  men.  He  is  the  star  to 
which  all  eyes  gratefully  turn  —  the  wise  and  un 
lettered,  rich  and  poor.  Other  heroes  are,  and 
deserve  to  be,  admitted  into  their  hearts  :  but  they 
jealously  hold  for  him  the  chiefest,  holiest  place. 

"  See  here,  do  you  expect  to  get  to  heaven  ?  "  was 
asked  of  a  peculiarly  profane  lad  —  a  "hard  case" 
—  who  indignantly  answered :  "  Course  I  do  !  Don't 
you  suppose  I  want  to  see  General  Washington  ?  " 


CHAPTER    XIII 

MARY  WASHINGTON'S  WILL  ;  HER  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH 

MARY  WASHINGTON  made  her  will 
only  a  year  before  her  death,  stating 
therein  that  she  was  "  in  good  health." 
This  was  one  of  the  years,  during  which  it  has  been 
asserted  that  she  was  not  only  neglected  by  her  son 
but  that  they  were  estranged  because  of  her  Tory 
principles !  Besides  a  few  small  bequests  to  her 
daughter  and  grandchildren,  "  desiring  their  accept 
ance  thereof  as  all  the  token  I  now  have  to  give 
them,"  she  leaves  all  her  estate  "  to  my  Son  Gen 
eral  George  Washington,"  also  —  that  crowning 
pride  of  the  early  Englishwoman  —  her  best  bed, 
bedstead,  curtains,  quilt,  and  other  bed  furniture. 
Long  after  the  Englishwoman  had  lived  in  Vir 
ginia  she  held  her  bed  in  the  highest  esteem,  and 
always  made  special  mention  of  it  in  her  will.  She 
came  from  the  land  where,  from  ancient  days,  the 
bed  was  the  most  important  feature  in  the  whole 
house  —  made  of  feathers  and  adorned  with  tapestry 
or  with  velvets  or  with  "  cloth  of  gold,  or  mini 
ver."  In  the  "pane"  (the  forerunner  of  our 
"  counterpane  "  —  from  contre-fointe  —  adorned  with 

347 


348    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"  drawn  thread  lattice  work  ")  the  ambition  of  the 
housewife  centred,  and  was  indulged.  When 
Lafayette  desired  to  make  a  handsome  present  to 
Dr.  Gait  of  Williamsburg,  who  had  entertained 
him,  he  sent  from  France  a  set  of  velvet  bed  cur 
tains,  dark  blue  with  ornate  figuring  of  gold,  quite 
the  handsomest  of  the  textile  fabrics  exhibited  at  our 
Centennial  in  New  York  City. 

Mary  Washington  bequeathed  the  articles  in 
which  she  had  most  pride  to  her  "  Son  General 
George  Washington."  She  was  then,  May,  1788, 
"in  good  health."  It  appears,  from  an  old  letter, 
she  once  fell  at  her  door-step  and  hurt  her  arm. 
Perhaps  then  she  also  wounded  her  breast,  in 
which  a  cancerous  growth  appeared  not  long  before 
her  death.  In  those  days  the  medical  and  surgical 
sciences  were  all  wrong,  if  we  may  believe  them  to 
be  now  all  right.  A  New  York  writer  had  said 
that  more  lives  had  been  destroyed  in  that  city 
by  physicians  than  by  all  other  causes  whatever. 

Virginians  at  the  school  of  medicine  in  Edin 
burgh  had  organized  themselves,  a  few  years 
before,  into  a  Virginia  Society  "  for  the  protection 
of  the  profession  against  quacks  and  imposters  who 
had  degraded  the  profession  by  mingling  with  it 
the  trade  of  an  apothecary  or  surgeon  !  "  An  elo 
quent  petition  is  preserved  addressed  u  To  the 
Honourable  the  Council  of  Virginia  and  House 
of  Burgesses,"  entreating  that  "  laws  be  passed 


Mary  Washington's  Illness  and  Death      349 

forbidding  the  intrusion  of  pretenders  into  the  do 
main  of  the  authorized  practitioner,  thereby  dis 
honouring  the  profession  itself  and  destroying 
mankind."  We  can  imagine  the  enormities  com 
mitted  by  the  quacks  and  imposters  when  we 
observe  the  methods  of  the  legitimate  practitioner. 
When  a  man  or  woman  sickened,  the  doctors  sped 
the  parting  guest,  —  taking  from  him  his  very  life- 
blood,  by  cupping,  leeching,  bleeding,  and  reducing 
his  strength  by  blistering  and  drenching.  Nature 
was  sometimes  strong  enough  to  give  battle  to 
doctor  and  disease,  and  even  to  win  a  victory  over 
their  combined  forces.  But  in  old  age  Nature 
prudently  retired  without  a  struggle.  We  hope 
much  for  Mary  Washington  from  the  gentle 
ministration  of  Betty  Lewis  and  the  indulgent 
kindness  of  good  Dr.  Charles  Mortimer,  also 
Betty  Lewis's  own  testimony,  one  month  before  the 
end,  of  her  patience  and  resignation.  The  last 
word  from  her  lips  reveals  no  earthly  wish  save  the 
desire  to  hear  from  her  son's  "  own  hand  that  he  is 
well."  August  25,  1789,  she  was  released  from 
sufferings  which  had  been  borne  with  unfaltering 
faith  and  fortitude ;  and  on  the  2yth  of  that  month 
she  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  spot  she  had  herself 
chosen  as  her  last  resting-place,  and  over  which  her 
monument,  erected  by  the  women  of  America,  now 
stands. 

The   President  did  not  learn  of  her  death  —  in 


350    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

that  day  of  post-riders  —  until  the  ist  of  September. 
It  was  announced  to  him  by  his  kinsman  Colonel 
Burgess  Ball. 

On  September  13,  he  wrote  to  his  sister,  Mrs. 
Betty  Lewis,  as  follows  :  — 

"  MY  DEAR  SISTER  :  Colonel  Ball's  letter  gave  me  the 
first  account  of  my  Mother's  death.  Since  that  I  have 
received  Mrs.  Carter's  1  letter,  written  at  your  request,  and 
previous  to  both.  I  was  prepared  for  the  event  by  advices 
of  her  illness  coming  to  your  son  Robert. 

"  Awful  and  affecting  as  the  death  of  a  parent  is,  there 
is  consolation  in  knowing  that  Heaven  has  spared  ours  to  an 
age  beyond  which  few  attain,  and  favored  her  with  the  full 
enjoyment  of  her  mental  faculties  and  as  much  bodily 
strength  as  usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  four  score. 

"When  I  was  last  in  Fredericksburg  I  took  a  final  leave 
of  her,  never  expecting  to  see  her  more.   .   .  . 
"  Your  affectionate  brother, 

"  GEORGE  WASHINGTON." 

Ten  years  later  he  records  the  death  of  all  of  his 
mother's  children.  September  22,  1799,  he  writes 
to  Colonel  Burgess  Ball :  — 

"DEAR  SIR:  Your  letter  of  the  i6th  inst.  has  been  re 
ceived  informing  me  of  the  death  of  my  brother  (Charles). 

"  The  death  of  near  relations  always  produces  awful  and 
affecting  emotions  under  whatsoever  circumstances  it  may 
happen.  That  of  my  brother  has  been  long  expected  :  and 
his  latter  days  so  uncomfortable  to  himself  must  have  pre- 

1  Mrs.  Charles  Carter,  his  niece,  Betty  Lewis's  daughter. 


Mary  Washington's  Illness  and  Death     351 

pared  all  around  him  for  the  stroke  though  (j/V)  painful   in 
the  effect. 

"  I  was  the  first,  and  am,  now,  the  last  of  my  father's 
children,  by  the  second  marriage,  who  remain. 

"  When  I  shall  be  called  upon  to  follow  them  is  known 
only  to  the  Giver  of  Life.  When  the  summons  comes  I 
shall  endeavor  to  obey  it  with  a  good  grace. 

"  With  great  esteem  and  regard  I  am,  Dear  Sir,  your 
affectionate  serv't, 

u  Go.  WASHINGTON." 


Less  than  three  months  afterwards  the  summons 
came.  Nothing  in  his  life  became  him  like  the  leav 
ing  it.  The  generation  had  passed  away  !  The  stars 
of  the  western  firmament  had  set.  In  the  same  year 
died  Patrick  Henry  and  George  Washington! 

Mary  Washington  left  a  noble  band  of  grand 
sons  who  worthily  served  their  country.  Bushrod 
Washington  (son  of  John  Augustine  Washington), 
was  soon  to  become  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States.  When  President  Washington 
went  to  Fort  Pitt  to  visit  the  troops  sent  to  sup 
press  the  Whiskey  Insurrection,  it  is  related  that 
as  he  passed,  uncovered,  down  the  line,  every  man 
poured  forth  the  homage  of  his  heart  in  words  of 
devotion  and  loyalty,  and  that  an  escort  of  cavalry 
was  detailed  to  conduct  him  on  his  homeward  way. 
Dismissing  this,  after  travelling  a  short  distance,  he 
thus  addressed  the  officer  in  charge,  the  eldest  son 
of  his  only  sister,  Betty  Lewis  :  "  George,  you  are 


The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

the  eldest  of  five  nephews  that  I  have  in  this  army  ! 
Let  your  conduct  be  an  example  to  them,  and  do 
not  turn  your  back  until  you  are  ordered." 

The  five  nephews  were  Major  George  Lewis, 
commandant  of  the  cavalry  ;  Major  Lawrence 
Lewis,  aide-de-camp  to  Major  General  Morgan  ; 
Howell  Lewis,  in  Captain  Mercer's  troop  ;  Samuel 
Washington,  son  of  Colonel  Charles  Washington, 
and  Lawrence  Washington,  son  of  Colonel  Samuel 
Washington  —  the  two  latter  light-horsemen  in  the 
troop  commanded  by  Captain  Lewis,  the  first 
troop  of  cavalry  to  cross  the  mountains  on  this 
expedition.  Standing  in  the  field  under  the  new 
banner  of  their  new  government,  were  six  of  Mary 
Washington's  descendants.  The  spirit  of  the  stout 
hearted  grandmother  lived  in  these  men,  and  in 
spired  them  in  their  prompt  response  to  the  call 
of  their  country  for  support  of  law  and  order. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

TRIBUTES    OF    HER    COUNTRYMEN 

MARY  WASHINGTON  was  laid  by  rev 
erent  hands  in  the  spot  chosen  by  herself 
near  "  Kenmore."  Tradition  declares 
that  General  Washington  proposed  erecting  a  mon 
ument  over  her  ashes,  but  was  restrained  by  the 
assurance  that  the  country  claimed  that  privilege. 

If  this  promise  was  made,  it  was  never  redeemed. 
The  American  nation,  in  its  reasonable  gratitude, 
dedicated  in  almost  every  hamlet  some  memorial  to 
its  great  commander.  For  her  it  did  nothing.  No 
stone  or  tablet  for  years  marked  her  resting-place. 

Tradition  loves  to  repeat  the  myth  that  Congress, 
which  was  in  session  at  the  time  of  her  death,  wore 
the  usual  badge  of  mourning  for  thirty  days,  and 
passed  resolutions  of  respect  to  her  memory  and 
sympathy  with  the  President.  No  such  action  was 
taken  by  Congress.  There  is  no  official  record  of 
the  fact.  Nor  does  Robert  Maclay,  who  transcribed 
in  his  journal  every  incident  of  his  senatorial  life, 
make  any  mention  whatever  of  Mary  Washington. 

We  delighted  to  call  her  son  "  a  king  among 
men,  godlike  in  his  virtues."  We  knew  that  he 
2  A  353 


354    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

served  us  for  eight  years  in  peril  of  life  and  fortune, 
unsustained  by  encouragement  or  the  hope  of  suc 
cess,  leading  a  forlorn  hope  against  a  powerful 
enemy.  We  knew  that  his,  more  than  any  score  of 
names,  had  given  us  the  place  we  held  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  We  knew  that  he  himself  said, 
"  All  that  I  am,  I  owe  to  my  mother." 

And  yet  the  country  seemed  content  with  toast 
ing  his  name  at  its  banquets,  and  left  his  mother's 
grave  to  be  marked  only  by  mouldering  stones  and 
noisome  weeds  !  The  graves  of  her  family  were  all 
preserved  from  decay.  Her  distinguished  son  lay, 
as  it  was  fitting  he  should  lie,  in  a  marble  sarcopha 
gus  at  Mount  Vernon.  She  had  chosen  for  her  final 
pillow,  the  spot  where  God  had  answered  her  pray 
ers  in  the  gift  of  wonderful  serenity  of  soul,  and  in 
a  short  while  God  alone  would  have  known  where 
to  find  that  spot.  Brambles  and  weeds  covered  it, 
hiding,  for  very  shame,  the  witness  of  man's  ingrati 
tude  and  neglect.  Twice,  bills  were  presented  to 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  asking  for  an 
appropriation  for  a  monument  over  Mary  Washing 
ton's  grave.  By  various  misfortunes  the  bills  were 
lost.  In  1830  the  women  of  Fredericksburg  banded 
themselves  together  to  rear  this  monument,  and  were 
zealously  engaged  to  that  end  when  they  received 
the  following  letter  from  a  patriotic  man  of  wealth 
in  New  York  City  :  — 


Tributes  of  her  Countrymen  355 

"NEW  YORK,  April  n,  1831. 

"  To  THE  HONORABLE   THOMAS  GOODWIN,  Mayor  of  the 
Town  of  Fredericksburg,  Va. 

"  SIR  :  —  I  have  seen  with  the  greatest  interest  the  efforts 
making  by  the  citizens  of  Fredericksburg  to  erect  a  monu 
ment  over  the  remains  and  to  rescue  from  oblivion  the 
sacred  spot  where  reposes  the  great  American  mother, 
Mary,  the  mother  of  Washington.  I  feel  a  great  interest 
that  the  ashes  of  this  good  American  mother  shall  remain 
where  they  are,  and  I  wish  to  be  allowed  the  honor  of 
individually  erecting  the  monument,  which  I  assure  you, 
sir,  shall  be,  in  style  and  execution,  to  please  the  family  of 
Washington  and  the  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

"  Be  pleased,  sir,  to  make  this  communication  known  to 
the  Washington  family  and  all  interested,  and  believe  me 
truly, 

"Your  most  ob't  s'vt, 

"  SILAS  E.  BURROWS." 

The  offer  was  gladly  accepted.  Work  on  the 
monument  was  at  once  commenced.  The  hand 
some  marbles  were  finished,  and  the  corner-stone 
laid  in  the  presence  of  Andrew  Jackson,  then 
President  of  the  United  States.  On  this  occasion 
President  Jackson  said :  "  Mary  Washington  ac 
quired  and  maintained  a  wonderful  ascendency  over 
those  around  her.  This  true  characteristic  of  genius 
attended  her  through  life,  and  she  conferred  upon 
her  son  that  power  of  self-command  which  was  one 
of  the  remarkable  traits  of  her  character. 

"  She   conducted   herself  through   this    life    with 


356     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

virtue  and  prudence  worthy  of  the  mother  of  the 
greatest  hero  that  ever  adorned  the  annals  of  his 
tory.  There  is  no  fame  in  the  world  more  pure 
than  that  of  the  mother  of  Washington,  and  no 
woman,  since  the  mother  of  Christ,  has  left  a  better 
claim  to  the  affectionate  reverence  of  mankind." 

This  monument  was  completed  but  never  erected. 
The  stone-mason  and  the  contractor  died  before  the 
shaft  was  placed  on  the  foundation,  and,  soon  after, 
Mr.  Burrows  died  also.  The  work  ceased,  and  the 
unfinished  structure  stood  as  the  contractor  left  it, 
until  torn  down  for  the  present  finished  monument. 
The  non-completion  of  the  old  monument,  there 
fore,  seems  to  have  been  providential,  and  no  fault 
of  the  projector  or  contractor.  During  the  Civil 
War  between  the  North  and  the  South,  the  guns  of 
the  contending  armies  were  fired  across  the  stones,  and 
they  became  a  prey  to  the  vandalism  of  strangers. 

In  1857  Captain  George  Washington  Ball  (grand 
son  of  the  patriot,  Colonel  Burgess  Ball,  and  his 
wife  —  Frances  Washington)  circulated  an  appeal 
throughout  the  country,  asking  for  donations  to 
complete  the  monument.  For  eleven  years  Captain 
Ball  worked  zealously  and  faithfully.  He  desired 
to  erect  near  the  monument  a  noble  charity,  —  an 
institution  of  learning  for  young  women,  —  but  it 
seemed  ordained  that  he  should  be  not  immediately 
successful,  and  in  time  he  became  discouraged.  It 
was  a  heart-breaking  disappointment  to  "  this  old 


Tributes  of  her  Countrymen 


357 


man  eloquent/'  —  the  author  of  the  monograph  so 
freely  quoted  on  these  pages. 

Finally  the  women  of  America  reared  a  shaft  over 
the  desecrated  spot,  and  by  a  hereditary  office,  held 
by  six  hundred  of  their  number,  provided  a  per 
petual  Guard  of  Honor  over  the  grave  of  Mary, 


Mary  Washington's  Monument. 

the  mother  of  Washington.  The  corner-stone  of 
this  last  monument  was  laid  Oct.  20,  1893.  The 
monument  —  the  first  ever  reared  by  women  in 
honor  of  a  woman  —  is  a  classic  shaft  of  granite. 
It  was  dedicated  by  President  Cleveland  on  May 
10,  1894,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of 
people. 


358    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

Fredericksburg  made  the  occasion  one  of  rejoic 
ing  and  festivity.  The  day  was  a  glorious  one.  The 
sun  never  looked  down  upon  a  brighter  scene, — 
garlands  and  festoons  of  flowers,  "  ripples  of  ribbons 
in  the  air,"  officers  in  uniform,  maidens  in  white, 
music,  and  song  !  There  was  a  grand  masonic  ban 
quet,  and  a  ball. 

The  procession  was  headed  by  a  number  of 
beautiful  young  women  habited  in  black  with  black 
hats  and  sable  plumes,  handsomely  mounted  on 
horseback.  The  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States,  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
members  of  the  Cabinet,  preceded  the  companies 
of  infantry,  cavalry,  and  artillery,  and  again,  beside 
the  grave  of  this  modest  woman,  were  repeated 
words  of  honor  and  applause,  than  which  no  words 
in  any  language  could  be  nobler  or  better  deserved. 

These  words  —  from  the  citizens  of  her  own 
town,  from  the  senator  of  her  state,  from  the 
President  of  the  United  States  —  were  for  her: 
not  alone  as  the  mother  of  the  adored  Washington, 
but  for  the  true  woman  "  of  clear,  prompt  and 
decided  mind,"  the  woman  of  courage  and  integ 
rity,  the  "  Christian  woman,  devout  and  worship 
ful,"  to  whom  the  "greatest  hero  that  ever  adorned 
the  annals  of  history  "  ascribed  all  that  had  made 
him  great  and  good. 

And  very  noble  was  the  tribute  of  Virginia's 
honored  son  at  the  ceremonies  attendant  upon  the 


Tributes  of  her  Countrymen  359 

unveiling  of  the  monument  reared  in  her  honor 
by  the  women  of  America.  Said  Senator  Daniel : 
"  She  nursed  a  hero  at  her  breast.  At  her  knee 
she  trained  to  the  love  and  fear  of  God  and  to 
the  kingly  virtues,  honor,  truth  and  valor,  the  lion 
of  the  tribe  that  gave  to  America  liberty  and  inde 
pendence.  This  her  title  to  renown.  It  is  enough. 
Eternal  dignity  and  heavenly  grace  dwell  upon  the 
brow  of  this  blessed  mother ;  nor  burnished  gold, 
nor  sculptured  stone,  nor  rhythmic  praise  could  add 
one  jot  or  tittle  to  her  chaste  glory.  Tributes  to 
the  lofty  genius,  which  is  the  rare  gift  of  nature, 
and  to  the  brilliant  deeds,  which  are  the  rare  fruits 
of  fitting  opportunity,  fulfil  a  noble  function  ;  but 
they  often  excite  extravagant  emulations  that  can 
never  be  satisfied,  and  individualize  models  which 
few  by  possibility  may  copy.  This  tribute  is  not  to 
them.  It  is  to  one  who  possessed  only  the  homely 
virtues  of  her  sex ;  but  what  is  there  in  human  life 
that  can  be  more  admirable  or  bring  it  in  closer 
proximity  to  the  divine  ?  She  was  simply  a  private 
citizen.  No  sovereign's  crown  rested  on  her  brow. 
She  did  not  lead  an  army,  like  Joan  of  Arc,  nor 
slay  a  tyrant,  like  Charlotte  Corday.  She  was  not 
versed  in  letters  or  in  arts.  She  was  not  an  Angel 
of  Mercy,  like  Florence  Nightingale,  nor  the  con 
sort  of  a  hero,  like  the  wife  of  Napoleon.  She  did 
not  shine  amidst  the  throngs  which  bow  to  the 
charms  of  wit,  beauty  and  hospitality  ;  but  in  any 


360     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

assembly  of  the  beautiful,  the  brilliant,  the  power 
ful,  or  the  brave  of  her  sex,  no  form  could  awaken 
a  holier  sentiment  of  reverence  than  she,  and  that 
sentiment  is  all  the  deeper  because  she  was  the 
unassuming  wife  and  mother  whose  kingdom  was 
her  family,  whose  world  was  her  home.  In  the 
shadow  and  in  the  silence  from  day  to  day  and 
year  to  year  she  followed  the  guiding  star  of  that 
truth  which  tells  us  that  c  to  do  that  which  before 
us  lies  in  daily  life  is  the  prime  wisdom.'  She  was 
the  good  angel  of  the  hearthstone  —  the  special 
providence  of  tender  hearts  and  helpless  hands, 
content  to  bear  her  burdens  in  the  sequestered 
vale  of  life,  her  thoughts  unperverted  by  false 
ambitions,  and  all  unlocking  for  the  great  reward 
that  crowned  her  love  and  toil. 

"  But  for  the  light  that  streamed  from  the  deeds 
of  him  she  bore,  we  would  doubtless  have  never 
heard  the  name  of  Mary  Washington,  and  the  grass 
that  grew  upon  this  grave  had  not  been  disturbed 
by  curious  footsteps  or  reverential  hands.  But  it 
does  not  follow  that  she  shines  only  in  the  reflection 
of  her  offspring's  fame.  Her  virtues  were  not  created ; 
they  were  only  discovered  by  the  marvellous  career 
of  her  illustrious  son.  This  memorial  might  indeed 
be  due  to  her  because  of  who  she  was,  but  it  is  far 
more  due  to  her  because  of  what  she  was.  It  is  in 
her  own  right,  and  as  the  type  of  her  sex,  her  people 
and  her  race,  that  she  deserves  this  tribute  stone. 


Tributes  of  her  Countrymen  361 

"  There  were  ten  thousand  Mary  Washingtons 
among  the  mothers  of  the  Revolution,  and  honor 
ing  her  we  honor  the  motherhood  of  heroic  days 
and  heroic  men.  It  was  in  his  character,  all  suffi 
cient  in  every  emergency,  that  was  displayed  the 
overtowering  greatness  of  George  Washington,  and 
it  is  not  doubted  that  this  character  was  toned  and 
shaped  by  his  mother's  hand.  The  principles  which 
he  applied  to  a  nation  were  those  simple  and  ele 
mentary  truths  which  she  first  imprinted  upon  his 
mind  in  the  discipline  of  home. 

"Mary  Washington  was  the  ( light  of  the  dwell 
ing'  in  a  plain,  rural,  colonial  home.  Her  history 
hovers  around  it.  There  she  was  wife,  mother,  and 
widow. 

"  Home  is  the  pure  original  fountain  from  which 
all  patriotism  must  flow,  and  the  stream  can  never 
rise  above  its  source.  As  the  woman  is,  the  man  is ; 
as  the  man  and  woman  are,  the  home  is ;  and  as  the 
home,  so  the  country.  Show  me  refined,  enlight 
ened,  virtuous,  and  industrious  homes,  and  I  will 
show  you  a  good  government  and  a  great  nation. 
The  nation  is  the  aggregate,  the  homes  are  the 
units ;  man  is  the  builder,  woman  is  the  inspira 
tion.  Discuss  constitutions,  administrations,  and 
policies  as  we  may,  the  outcome  must  depend 
upon  the  subsoil  they  spring  from.  Make  the 
home  all  right,  and  the  rest  must  follow.  This  is 
woman's  mission.  Our  race,  the  youngest  that  has 


362    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

framed  a  language,  moulded  a  constitution,  and 
made  a  name,  has  recognized  that  mission  and 
held  it  sacred.  Other  races  roam  the  earth  for 
pelf  and  adventure,  and  condescend  to  inferior 
connections.  Our  race  roams  the  earth  only  to 
find  the  spot  on  which  to  build  its  homes.  In 
deed  it  never  quits  home.  It  carries  home  with 
it.  Wife  and  child,  the  domestic  animals  and 
plants,  the  household  goods  go  where  it  goes, 
over  the  stormy  billows,  into  the  wilderness,  and 
even  to  the  verge  of  battle.  It  is  a  beautiful  legend 
of  the  Rappahannock  that  when  Spotswood  and 
his  companions  came  sailing  hither  the  air  was 
made  vocal  by  the  English  swallows  that  they 
brought  with  them.  The  stars  might  change,  but 
they  would  make  the  skies  still  resonant  with  the 
songs  of  the  olden  homes/' 

And  as  the  ages  pass  may  there  be  always  some 
to  make  the  skies  vocal  with  the  songs  of  the  olden 
times  of  the  Virginia  she  loved. 

But  the  "  olden  homes,"  alas,  are  passing  away. 
Their  solid  masonry  long  resists  the  tooth  of 
Time,  but  the  all-destroyer,  Fire,  levels  them  at 
last.  The  walls  fall,  the  stones  are  removed,  —  let 
us  hope  for  the  building  of  other  homes,  —  finally 
the  drifting  earth  fills  the  foundations,  and  daisies 
that  "  look  up  to  God  "  alone  remain  to  keep  vigil. 

Pious  hands  preserve  the  old  historic  churches. 
Old  Christ  Church  in  Lancaster,  where  Mrs.  Ball 


Tributes  of  her  Countrymen 


363 


(the  "  Widow  Johnson  ")  stood  with  little  Mary's 
sponsors  in  baptism,  still  exists  ;  so  does  Yeocomico 
church  in  Westmoreland,  where  sweet  Mary  Ball 
prayed  to  the  God  who  never  forsook  her;  so  does 
St.  George's  Church  in  Fredericksburg,  built  on  the 
site  of  "  Old  St.  George's,"  where,  "  devout  and 


The  Avenue  of  Poplars  at  Nomini  Hall. 

worshipful,"  her  venerable  form  was   never  a   mo 
ment  too  late. 

Her  last  residence  in  Fredericksburg  is  tended 
by  the  gentle  hands  of  a  society  of  Virginia  women. 
The  garden  she  loved  is  kept  "  passing  sweet  with 
flowers."  Mount  Vernon  is  also  thus  kept  by  the 
women  of  the  whole  country.  The  ancient  home 
of  "  Epping  Forest"  fell  into  ruin  long,  long  ago.  A 


364    The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

cluster  of  old  trees  marks  the  spot  where  the  mother 
of  Washington  was  born.  Some  of  the  "  olden 
homes  "  named  in  these  pages  are  still  standing,  — 
"  Gunston  Hall,"  the  residence  of  George  Mason ; 
"  Stratford,"  the  home  of  the  Lees  in  Westmoreland  ; 
"  Bushfield,"  the  home  of  Jenny  Washington  of  the 
dancing-class  ;  "  Mount  Airy,"  where  lived  the  pretty 
Tayloe  girls.  These  are  in  good  repair,  and  there 
are  many  others  whose  thresholds  were  often  crossed 
by  Mary  Washington  in  her  girlhood,  wifehood, 
and  widowhood. 

Of  "  Nomini  Hall,"  where  our  New  Jersey  tutor 
taught  and  admired  the  ladies,  no  trace  remains ; 
except  the  avenue  of  poplars  which  still  live  and 
sleep  all  winter,  and  in  leafing-time  nod  and  whisper 
to  each  other  of  those  they  once  sheltered  who  are 
sleeping  on  forever ! 


THE  WILL  OF  MARY  WASHINGTON, 
AS  REGISTERED  IN  THE  CLERK'S 
OFFICE  AT  FREDERICKSBURG,  VIR 
GINIA 

"  In  the  name  of  God  !  Amen  !  I,  Mary  Washington, 
of  Fredericksburg  in  the  County  of  Spotsylvania,  being  in 
good  health,  but  calling  to  mind  the  uncertainty  of  this 
life,  and  willing  to  dispose  of  what  remains  of  my  worldly 
estate,  do  make  and  publish  this,  my  last  will,  recommend 
ing  my  soul  into  the  hands  of  my  Creator,  hoping  for  a 
remission  of  all  my  sins  through  the  merits  and  mediation 
of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  mankind  ;  I  dispose  of  my 
worldly  estate  as  follows  : 

u  Imprimis.  I  give  to  my  son  General  George  Wash 
ington,  all  my  land  in  Accokeek  Run,  in  the  County  of 
Stafford,  and  also  my  negro  boy  George,  to  him  and  his 
heirs  forever.  Also  my  best  bed,  bedstead,  and  Virginia 
cloth  curtains  (the  same  that  stands  in  my  best  bedroom), 
my  quilted  blue  and  white  quilt  and  my  best  dressing- 
glass. 

u  Item.  I  give  and  devise  to  my  son,  Charles  Washing 
ton,  my  negro  man  Tom,  to  him  and  his  assigns  forever. 

"  Item.  I  give  and  devise  to  my  daughter  Bettie  Lewis, 
my  phaeton  and  my  bay  horse. 

u  Item.  I  give  and  devise  to  my  daughter-in-law  Han 
nah  Washington,  my  purple  cloth  cloak  lined  with  shag. 

365 


366     The  Mother  of  Washington  and  her  Times 

"  Item.  I  give  and  devise  to  my  grandson,  Corbin 
Washington,  my  negro  wench,  old  Bet,  my  riding  chair, 
and  two  black  horses,  to  him  and  his  assigns  forever. 

"  Item.  I  give  and  devise  to  my  grandson,  Fielding 
Lewis,  my  negro  man  Frederick,  to  him  and  his  assigns 
forever,  also  eight  silver  tablespoons,  half  of  my  crockery- 
ware,  and  the  blue  and  white  tea  china,  with  book  case, 
oval  table,  one  bedstead,  one  pair  sheets,  one  pair  blankets 
and  white  cotton  counterpain,  two  table  cloths,  six  red 
leather  chairs,  half  my  peuter  and  one  half  of  my  kitchen 
furniture. 

"  Item.  I  give  and  devise  to  my  grandson,  Lawrence 
Lewis,  my  negro  wench  Lydia,  to  him  and  his  assigns 
forever. 

u  Item.  I  give  and  devise  to  my  granddaughter,  Bettie 
Curtis,  my  negro  woman,  little  Bet,  and  her  future  increase, 
to  her  and  her  assigns  forever.  Also  my  largest  looking- 
glass,  my  walnut  writing  desk  and  drawers,  a  square  dining- 
table,  one  bed,  bedstead,  bolster,  one  pillow,  one  blanket 
and  pair  sheets,  white  Virginia  cloth  counterpains  and 
purple  curtains,  my  red  and  white  tea  china,  teaspoons, 
and  the  other  half  of  my  peuter  and  crockeryware,  and  the 
remainder  of  my  iron  kitchen  furniture. 

"  Item.  I  give  and  devise  to  my  grandson,  George 
Washington,  my  next  best  glass,  one  bed,  bedstead,  bolster, 
one  pillow,  one  pair  sheets,  one  blanket  and  counterpain. 

u  Item.  I  devise  all  my  wearing  apparel  to  be  equally 
divided  between  my  granddaughters,  Bettie  Curtis,  Fannie 
Ball,  and  Milly  Washington,  —  but  should  my  daughter, 
Bettie  Lewis,  fancy  any  one  two  or  three  articles,  she  is 
to  have  them  before  a  division  thereof. 


The  Will  of  Mary  Washington  367 

"  Lastly,  I  nominate  and  appoint  my  said  son,  General 
George  Washington,  executor  of  this,  my  will,  and  as  I 
owe  few  or  no  debts,  I  direct  my  executor  to  give  no  secu 
rity  or  appraise  my  estate,  but  desire  the  same  may  be 
allotted  to  my  devisees,  with  as  little  trouble  and  delay  as 
may  be,  desiring  their  acceptance  thereof  as  all  the  token  I 
now  have  to  give  them  of  my  love  for  them. 

"  In  witness  thereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
seal  the  2Oth  day  of  May,  1788. 

"MARY    WASHINGTON. 
"Witness,  JOHN    FERNEYHOUGH. 

"Signed,  sealed  and  published  in  the  presence  of  the 
said  Mary  Washington  and  at  her  desire. 

"JNO.  MERCER. 
"JOSEPH   WALKER." 


WORKS  BY  MRS.  ALICE  MORSE  EARLE 


STAGE-COACH  AND  TAVERN  DAYS 

With  many  illustrations  from  photographs. 

8vo.     Cloth.     $2.50 

"  Not  the  least  valuable  items  in  her  book  are  the  pictures  with 
which  it  is  lavishly  provided,  —  admirable  reproductions,  most  of 
them,  of  old  taverns,  tavern  signs  and  bills,  stage  coaches,  and  a  num 
ber  of  copies  of  the  paintings  of  Mr.  Henry,  who  has  made  the  stage 
coach  days  of  the  United  States  a  special  study." 

—  New  York  Tribune. 

"Mrs.  Earle  is  no  mere  compiler.  Her  books  represent  original 
research,  combined  with  a  happy  faculty  of  knowing  what  to  tell  and 
what  to  omit.  They  are  not  only  authentic,  they  are  interesting,  full 
of  human  nature,  and  touched  throughout  with  a  delightful  sense  of 
humor." —  Chicago  Tribune. 


OLD  TIME  GARDENS 

A  Book  of  the  Sweet  o1  the  Year.     With  many  illustrations 
from  photographs.  8vo.     Cloth.     $2.00,  net 

"  Every  page  is  laden  with  things  interesting,  attractive,  and  curi 
ously  and  effectively  instructive.  Mrs.  Earle's  knowledge  of  American 
local  traditionary  lore,  as  we  have  long  since  learned,  is  matchless." 

—  Booklovers1  Bulletin,  Philadelphia. 

"  A  treatise  which  will  be  welcomed  by  all  lovers  of  gardens  and 
of  literature  ...  for  the  scholarly  fragrance  distilled  by  every  chapter 
of  a  volume  that  may  be  worthily  enshrined  among  the  classics  of  gar 
dening  literature."  —  GEORGE  H.  ELLWANGER  in  the  Book  Buyer. 


SUN=DIALS  AND  ROSES  OF  YESTERDAY 

Garden  delights  which  are  here  displayed  in  very  truth  and 
are  moreover  regarded  as  emblems.     Profusely  illustrated. 

8vo.     Cloth.     $2.00,  net 


THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

66   FIFTH  AVENUE,   NEW   YORK 


WORKS  BY  MRS.  ALICE  MORSE  EARLE 


HOME  LIFE  IN  COLONIAL  DAYS 

Illustrated  by  photographs,  gathered  by  the  author,  of  real 
things,  works,  and  happenings  of  olden  times. 

8vo.     Cloth.     $2.50 

"The  work  is  mainly  and 'essentially  an  antiquarian  account  of  the 
tools,  implements,  and  utensils,  as  well  as  the  processes  of  colonial 
domestic  industry;  and  it  is  full  enough  to  serve  as  a  moderate 
encyclopaedia  in  that  kind.  .  .  .  This  useful  and  attractive  book,  with 
its  profuse  and  interesting  pictures,  its  fair  typography,  and  its  quaint 
binding,  imitative  of  an  old-time  sampler,  should  prove  a  favorite." 

—  The  Dial. 

"  Mrs.  Earle  has  made  a  very  careful  study  of  the  details  of  domes 
tic  life  from  the  earliest  days  of  the  settlement  of  the  country.  The 
book  is  sumptuously  illustrated,  and  every  famed  article,  such  as  the 
spinning-wheel,  the  foot-stone,  the  brass  knocker  on  the  door,  and  the 
old-time  cider-mill,  is  here  presented  to  the  eye  and  faithfully  pictured 
in  words.  The  volume  is  a  fascinating  one,  and  the  vast  army  of  ad 
mirers  and  students  of  the  olden  days  will  be  grateful  to  the  author 
for  gathering  together  and  putting  into  permanent  form  so  much  accu 
rate  information  concerning  the  homes  of  our  ancestors."  — Education. 


CHILD  LIFE  IN  COLONIAL  DAYS 

With  many  illustrations  from  photographs. 

8vo.     Cloth.     $2.50 

"  The  whole  work  presents  a  complete  and  graphic  picture  of  colo 
nial  childhood,  that  cannot  but  form  a  valuable  supplementary  study 
for  students  of  American  history.  At  the  same  time  it  has  much  gen 
eral  interest,  for  child  life  of  any  period  is  interesting,  but  the  interest 
is  doubled  when  it  concerns  the  formative  influences  of  American 
ancestry."  —  New  York  Times. 

"  From  the  scant  records  of  colonial  days  Mrs.  Earle  has  been 
enabled  to  make  up  a  volume  that  is  full  of  life  and  variety,  and  that 
gives  an  insight  into  the  beauty  and  tenderness  of  family  life  even 
under  the  austere  conditions  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen 
turies.  The  portraits  of  children  form  a  gallery  as  rare  as  it  is  beauti 
ful."  —  New  York  Herald. 


THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

66   FIFTH  AVENUE,   NEW   YORK 


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THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


